[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 46 (Wednesday, March 9, 2011)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 12823-12824]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-5568]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 46 / Wednesday, March 9, 2011 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 12823]]
Memorandum of March 4, 2011
Enhanced Collection of Relevant Data and
Statistics Relating to Women
Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and
Agencies
I am proud to work with the White House Council on
Women and Girls, the Office of Management and Budget,
and the Department of Commerce on this week's release
of Women in America, a report detailing the status of
American women in the areas of families and income,
health, employment, education, and violence and crime.
This report provides a snapshot of the status of
American women today, serving as a valuable resource
for Government officials, academics, members of non-
profit, nongovernmental, and news organizations, and
others.
My Administration is committed to ensuring that Federal
programs achieve policy goals in the most cost-
effective manner. The Women in America report, together
with the accompanying website collection of relevant
data, will assist Government officials in crafting
policies in light of available statistical evidence. It
will also assist the work of the nongovernmental
sector, including journalists, public policy analysts,
and academic researchers, by providing data that allow
greater understanding of policies and programs.
Preparation of this report revealed the vast data
resources of the Federal statistical agencies. It also
revealed some gaps in data collection. Gathering and
analyzing additional data to fill in the gaps could
help policymakers gather a more accurate and
comprehensive view of the status and needs of American
women.
Accordingly, I hereby request the heads of executive
departments and agencies, where possible within
existing collections of data and in light of budgetary
constraints, to identify and to seek to fill in gaps in
statistics and improve survey methodology relating to
women wherever appropriate, including in the broad
areas covered by the Women in America report: families
and income, health, employment, education, and violence
and crime.
Examples of some of the efforts that could be
undertaken by departments and agencies with respect to
the gathering or design of comprehensive data related
to women include the following:
(a) Maternal Mortality. I encourage the National Center
for Health Statistics (NCHS) to continue to work with
States and other registration areas to complete the
expeditious adoption of the most current standards for
the collection of information on vital events, as well
as the transition to electronic reporting systems.
Maternal mortality is an important indicator of women's
health both internationally and nationally. In the
United States, maternal mortality statistics are based
upon the information recorded on death certificates and
collected by State and local vital records offices. The
NCHS compiles the data across the 50 States and other
registration areas. Due to concerns about data quality
in the ascertainment of maternal mortality statistics,
the 2003 revision of the standard death certificate
introduced improved standards for collecting data.
Until all 50 States and registration areas adopt the
new data standards, formulating a national-level
maternal mortality ratio remains difficult.
[[Page 12824]]
(b) Women in Leadership in Corporate America. Women
participate in every sector of the workforce. Their
current role in corporate leadership is an important
indicator of their progress. I encourage the Chair of
the Securities and Exchange Commission to seek to
supplement the information it already collects by
seeking to collect, among other data, information on
the presence of women in governance positions in
corporations, in order to shed further light on the
role of women in corporate America.
(c) Women in Leadership in Public Service. I encourage
the Corporation for National and Community Service to
include statistics about the role of women in diverse
aspects of public service within its planned work on
measuring civic engagement.
This memorandum shall be carried out to the extent
permitted by law, consistent with the legal authorities
of executive departments and agencies and subject to
the availability of appropriations. Nothing in this
memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise
affect the authority granted by law to a department or
agency, or the head thereof; or the functions of the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative
proposals.
This memorandum 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.
The Director of the Office of Management and Budget is
hereby authorized and directed to publish this
memorandum in the Federal Register.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
Washington, March 4, 2011
[FR Doc. 2011-5568
Filed 3-8-11; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3110-01-P