The UN, Women & Girls [WHITEHOUSE.GOV]

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28TH, 2009 AT 4:26 PM The UN, Women & Girls Posted by Jennifer Simon

The status and role of women and girls was featured prominently in official events throughout the week in New York, during the opening of the 64th session of the UN General Assembly. Ambassador Rice was pleased to welcome Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President and Chair of the White House Council of Women and Girls, to UN Headquarters to participate in several key events such as meetings with the newly-nominated UN Congressional and Public Delegate teams, roundtables on public-private partnerships, and dinners with key groups to discuss women's and girl's development.

These events build on significant developments which have taken place at the UN in recent weeks. Of particular importance is the UN General Assembly's unanimous vote on September 14th to combine several UN offices and agencies into a new, more powerful agency for women – an initiative which was strongly backed by the United States, under the leadership of Ambassador Rice. Not only will the new agency streamline women's and girl's issues into one agency, but it also raises the office to be a part of the Secretary General's core team – elevating women's issues to their rightful status.

We are excited by this announcement and congratulate the General Assembly on taking this important step in promoting women's rights. Dedicated UN staff are doing great work on behalf of women and girls all around the world – fighting for equality, advancing educational and economic opportunities, and working to prevent domestic violence, sexual exploitation and human trafficking. However, there is always room for improvement to better support those in the field. We need to be more focused, coordinated, and efficient – so that the programs and initiatives that support women can be more effective.

The General Assembly's decision to combine four existing offices into one greater office was a first step in this direction – but it is only a first step toward making a strong women's agency what it needs to be. The General Assembly's vote requested that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon produce a comprehensive proposal over the next year on the new agency's mission, organization, funding, and management. We now need to dig in and work hard to make the vision a reality on behalf of all of the world's women and girls.

As President Obama said in his speech to the General Assembly earlier this week, "this Assembly's Charter commits each of us 'to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women.'" And the President made a point of specifically citing among those fundamental rights "the opportunity for women and girls to pursue their own potential."

Streamlining work on women's rights and equality into a single empowered office fits with our broader interest in making sure that the UN is able to deliver on this vital part of its mandate. We are facing increasingly interconnected global challenges – poverty, disease, climate change, violence, conflict – that demand a top notch UN, one that is able to make real differences in people's lives around the world. The newly created women's agency is an important part of this broader vision.

Jennifer Simon is a senior advisor at the State Department and serves as Ambassador Susan Rice's liaison to the Council on Women and Girls

Previously...

Note: The following posts are a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2325490/posts

The Council on Women and Girls’ new site
WHITEHOUSE.gov ^ | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26TH, 2009 AT 12:50 PM | Posted by Christina M. Tchen
Posted on August 26, 2009 11:44:54 PM PDT by Cindy

Note: The following text is a quote:

THE BRIEFING ROOM • THE BLOG

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26TH, 2009 AT 12:50 PM The Council on Women and Girls’ new site Posted by Christina M. Tchen

Welcome to our new website! As the Executive Director of the Council, I’m very excited to launch this site as we commemorate Women’s Equality Day on August 26. On this day when we remember the bravery and struggles that won women the right to vote, we are very pleased to add this website to share with everyone the work of this Administration to address the issues of concern to women and girls. The mission of the White House Council on Women and Girls is to ensure that every part of the federal government takes into account the needs of women and girls in the policies we draft, the programs we create, the legislation we support. Through this site you will be able to meet the member of the Council and the key staff in each agency who are charged with meeting this charge from the President.

This site also gives you information on the work we have been doing through the Council highlighting the Anniversary of Title IX, working on health reform, and joining the Vice President in the appointment of a White House Advisor to the President on Violence Against Women. We hope that you will come back often for updates as we and each of the members of the Council moves forward with our work. One of our first steps has been for each agency to assess their current resources addressing women and girls, and to begin planning for the future. Those reports have all been submitted to us, we are reviewing them, and we thank everyone in the agencies who worked on them. We will be posting the reports on line in the near future.

I hope that you will use this site and share it with others. We want you to come back and visit us often to learn what is happening throughout the Administration on issues concerning women and girls.

Thank you for your support.

Christina M. Tchen is Executive Director of the Council on Women and Girls and the Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement

TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; Politics/Elections; Click to Add Topic
KEYWORDS: biden; democrats; girls; nsp; nss; obama; women; Click to Add Keyword
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1 posted on August 26, 2009 11:44:54 PM PDT by Cindy
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http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/cwg/

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Presidential-Proclamation-Womens-Equality-Day-2009/

THE BRIEFING ROOM

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
___________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release August 26, 2009

WOMEN’S EQUALITY DAY, 2009
- - - - - - -
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Today, our country renews its commitment to freedom and justice for all our citizens. As we prepare to celebrate this women’s day of equality, we reflect on the sacrifices once made to allow women and girls the basic rights and choices we freely exercise today. The future we leave to our daughters and granddaughters will be determined by our willingness to build on the achievements of our past and move forward as one people and one Nation. The fight for women’s equality is not a woman’s agenda, but an American agenda.

We honor the resilience, accomplishments, and history of all women in the United States. We celebrate the courageous women who fought to uphold a fundamental principle within our Constitution the right to vote and in so doing, protected the cornerstone of our vibrant democracy. These visionaries of the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 sought to ensure that our country lived up to its founding ideals. Although only one, Charlotte Woodward, at the age of 81, had the opportunity to exercise her newfound right, the struggle reminds us that no righteous cause is a lost one. We also commemorate women like Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, a poet and lecturer who formed the National Association of Colored Women; Antonia Pantoja, a tireless advocate of education equality within the Latino community; Sarah Winnemucca, a voice for peace within the Native American community; and Patsy Mink, author of Title IX and the first woman of color and Asian American woman elected to the United States Congress. These women’s talents, and the contributions of countless others, built upon the framework of 1848 and forged paths for future generations.

Our Nation has come a long way since that ground-breaking convention in New York. Women have occupied some of the most significant positions in government. They have delivered justice from the bench of our highest court, fought for our country in foreign lands, discovered cures to diseases, and joined the ranks of the greatest business leaders of our time. Female college graduates now outnumber their male counterparts. Women have sought equality through government, demonstrated by the signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, and the establishment of the White House Council on Women and Girls. They have sought equality through advocacy, exemplified by the efforts of thousands of women’s organizations. America has made significant progress toward becoming the fair and just society the suffragists once envisioned.

Yet, today, our work remains unfinished. Far too many adult women remain mired in poverty. Women are still subject to pervasive discrimination at school and harassing conduct in the workplace. Women make, on average, only 78 cents for every dollar paid to men. Underrepresented in many facets of our economic and public life, from government to boardrooms to the sciences, women have yet to eradicate all barriers to professional development.

We stand at a moment of unparalleled change and a time for reflection and hope. We cannot allow the vibrant energy and passionate commitment of our trailblazing women to fade, and we can never forget the responsibility we bear to the ideals of liberty and equality for all. Each generation of successful women serves as a catalyst to empower, enlighten, and educate the next generation of girls and boys, and we must devote ourselves to promoting this catalyst for change now and in the future.

On this Women’s Equality Day, we resolve to continue the important work of our Nation’s foremothers and their successors, and turn their vision of a more equal America into our reality.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim August 26, 2009, as Women’s Equality Day. I call upon the people of the United States to celebrate the achievements of women and recommit themselves to the goal of true gender equality in this country.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth day of August, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA

2 posted on August 26, 2009 11:46:51 PM PDT by Cindy

Previously...

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2213084/posts

ESTABLISHING A WHITE HOUSE COUNCIL ON WOMEN AND GIRLS
WHITEHOUSE.GOV ^ | March 11, 2009 | n/a
Posted on March 23, 2009 5:58:58 PM PDT by Cindy

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Executive-Order-Creating-the-White-House-Council-on-Women-and-Girls/

THE BRIEFING ROOM

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary ____________________________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release March 11, 2009

EXECUTIVE ORDER - - - - - - -

ESTABLISHING A WHITE HOUSE COUNCIL ON WOMEN AND GIRLS

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order as follows:

Section 1. Policy. Over the past generation, our society has made tremendous progress in eradicating barriers to women’s success. A record number of women are attending college and graduate school. Women make up a growing share of our workforce, and more women are corporate executives and business owners than ever before, helping boost the U.S. economy and foster U.S. competitiveness around the world. Today, women are serving at the highest levels of all branches of our Government.

Despite this progress, certain inequalities continue to persist. On average, American women continue to earn only about 78 cents for every dollar men make, and women are still significantly underrepresented in the science, engineering, and technology fields. Far too many women lack health insurance, and many are unable to take time off to care for a new baby or an ailing family member. Violence against women and girls remains a global epidemic. The challenge of ensuring equal educational opportunities for women and girls endures. As the current economic crisis has swept across our Nation, women have been seriously affected.

These issues do not concern just women. When jobs do not offer family leave, that affects men who wish to help care for their families. When women earn less than men for the same work, that affects families who have to work harder to make ends meet. When our daughters do not have the same educational and career opportunities as our sons, that affects entire communities, our economy, and our future as a Nation.

The purpose of this order is to establish a coordinated Federal response to issues that particularly impact the lives of women and girls and to ensure that Federal programs and policies address and take into account the distinctive concerns of women and girls, including women of color and those with disabilities.

Sec. 2. White House Council on Women and Girls. There is established within the Executive Office of the President a White House Council on Women and Girls (Council).

(a) Membership of the Council. The Council shall consist of the following members:

(1) the Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Liaison, who shall serve as Chair of the Council;

(2) the Secretary of State; (3) the Secretary of the Treasury; (4) the Secretary of Defense; (5) the Attorney General; (6) the Secretary of the Interior; (7) the Secretary of Agriculture; (8) the Secretary of Commerce; (9) the Secretary of Labor; (10) the Secretary of Health and Human Services; (11) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; (12) the Secretary of Transportation; (13) the Secretary of Energy; (14) the Secretary of Education; (15) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; (16) the Secretary of Homeland Security; (17) the Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations; (18) the United States Trade Representative; (19) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget; (20) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; (21) the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers; (22) the Director of the Office of Personnel Management; (23) the Administrator of the Small Business Administration; (24) the Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy Council; (25) the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of the National Economic Council; and (26) the heads of such other executive branch departments, agencies, and offices as the President may, from time to time, designate.

A member of the Council may designate, to perform the Council functions of the member, a senior-level official who is a part of the member’s department, agency, or office, and who is a full-time officer or employee of the Federal Government. At the direction of the Chair, the Council may establish subgroups consisting exclusively of Council members or their designees under this section, as appropriate.

(b) Administration of the Council. The Department of Commerce shall provide funding and administrative support for the Council to the extent permitted by law and within existing appropriations. The Chair shall convene regular meetings of the Council, determine its agenda, and direct its work. The Chair shall designate an Executive Director of the Council, who shall coordinate the work of the Council and head any staff assigned to the Council.

Sec. 3. Mission and Functions of the Council. The Council shall work across executive departments and agencies to provide a coordinated Federal response to issues that have a distinct impact on the lives of women and girls, including assisting women-owned businesses to compete internationally and working to increase the participation of women in the science, engineering, and technology workforce, and to ensure that Federal programs and policies adequately take those impacts into account. The Council shall be responsible for providing recommendations to the President on the effects of pending legislation and executive branch policy proposals; for suggesting changes to Federal programs or policies to address issues of special importance to women and girls; for reviewing and recommending changes to policies that have a distinct impact on women in the Federal workforce; and for assisting in the development of legislative and policy proposals of special importance to women and girls. The functions of the Council are advisory only.

Sec. 4. Outreach. Consistent with the objectives set out in this order, the Council, in accordance with applicable law, in addition to regular meetings, shall conduct outreach with representatives of nonprofit organizations, State and local government agencies, elected officials, and other interested persons that will assist with the Council’s development of a detailed set of recommendations.

Sec. 5. Federal Interagency Plan. The Council shall, within 150 days of the date of this order, develop and submit to the President a Federal interagency plan with recommendations for interagency action consistent with the goals of this order. The Federal interagency plan shall include an assessment by each member executive department, agency, or office of the status and scope of its efforts to further the progress and advancement of women and girls. Such an assessment shall include a report on the status of any offices or programs that have been created to develop, implement, or monitor targeted initiatives concerning women or girls. The Federal interagency plan shall also include recommendations for issues, programs, or initiatives that should be further evaluated or studied by the Council. The Council shall review and update the Federal interagency plan periodically, as appropriate, and shall present to the President any updated recommendations or findings.

Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) The heads of executive departments and agencies shall assist and provide information to the Council, consistent with applicable law, as may be necessary to carry out the functions of the Council. Each executive department and agency shall bear its own expense for participating in the Council.

(b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(d) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

BARACK OBAMA

THE WHITE HOUSE, March 11, 2009.

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