On International Women’s Day Biden signed an executive order to establish a Gender Policy Council. “The council will have an explicit role in both domestic and foreign policy development,” an administration official said.

“We know that the full participation of all people, including women and girls across all aspects of our society, is essential to the economic well-being, health and security of our country and of the world.”

In a statement, Biden said: “In our nation, as in all nations, women have fought for justice, shattered barriers, built and sustained economies, carried communities through times of crisis, and served with dignity and resolve. Too often, they have done so while being denied the freedom, full participation and equal opportunity all women are due.”

Under former President Barack Obama, the office was called the White House Council on Women and Girls but was disbanded during Trump’s time in office. The council will be run by Jennifer Klein and Julissa Reynoso, who is chief of staff to first lady Jill Biden, and according to MSN, “will include four other staffers, including a special assistant to the president on gender-based violence and two special assistants on gender policy.”

MSN also stated that “The council will address a range of issues, including combatting gender bias and discrimination, increasing economic security and opportunity, addressing the needs of caregivers in the United States, improving access to healthcare and combatting gender-based violence. It is expected to put a particular focus on addressing the coronavirus pandemic and its disproportionate impact on women by engaging with the White House coronavirus task force.”

The White House said the effort “will be an essential part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s plan to ensure we build a more equal and just society — by aggressively protecting the rights and unique needs of those who experience multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, including individuals who are Black, Latina, Native, Asian American and Pacific Islander, people with disabilities and LGBTQI+.”

Areas of long-term focus for the Council, Reynoso said, will include “increasing economic security and opportunity by addressing the structural barriers to women’s participation in the labor force; decreasing wage and wealth gaps; and addressing the caregiving needs of American families and supporting care workers.” This is an exciting executive order, and I’m looking forward to seeing how exactly this new council will fit into politics and Biden’s political decision making.

Lindsey Urley is a freshman political science major. She ca be reached at 581-2812 or at lrurley@eiu.edu.