1.This Act may be cited as
the Enhancing Quality Assistance and
Leadership and Improving Transparency for Women Act
or
the EQUALITY
Act
.
2.
(a)Congress
finds the following:
(1)Women are vital
to successful development. On January 6, 2010, Secretary of State Clinton
stated, Women and girls are one of the world’s greatest untapped
resources. Investing in the potential of women to lift and lead their societies
is one of the best investments we can make. … (S)tudies have shown when a woman
receives even just one year of schooling, her children are less likely to die
in infancy or suffer from illness or hunger, and more likely to go to school
themselves.
.
(2)According to the
World Bank—
(A)investing in
women and girls yields large social and economic returns, including breaking
intergenerational cycles of poverty; and
(B)societies that
treat males and females more equally experience more rapid economic growth and
poverty reduction than societies that discriminate based on gender.
(3)United Nations
Millennium Development Goal 3 (MDG3) calls for redressing gender disparities
and empowering women. According to the United Nations, women have more access
to employment now than ever before; but they still earn
1/3 less than men. According to the World Bank, MDG3 is
the critical avenue through which several other goals are achievable,
including—
(A)universal primary
education (MDG2);
(B)a
2/3 reduction in the mortality rate among children younger
than 5 years of age (MDG4);
(C)improvements in
maternal health (MDG5); and
(D)a reduction in
the likelihood of contracting HIV/AIDS and other major diseases (MDG6).
(4)Properly
investing in women requires a cross-cutting, multi-sectoral approach. On
October 8, 2009, Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s
Issues, stated The major economic, security, governance, and
environmental challenges of our time cannot be solved without the participation
of women at all levels of society. Empowering women is one of the most
effective and positive forces for improving conditions around the globe.
Indeed, no country can prosper if half its people are left
behind.
.
(5)The Department of
State and the United States Agency for International Development need stronger
tools to create a comprehensive plan and approach to mainstreaming women in
development. As of 2010, these efforts are only nascent. In his December 2,
2009, confirmation hearing before the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate, USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah stated I believe effective
gender integration is often the difference between success and failure of a
broad variety of development investments.
.
3.Office for
Global Women’s Issues
(a)
(1)There is established, in the Office of the Secretary of
State, the Office for Global Women’s Issues (referred to in this section as the
Office
).
(2)The
Secretary of State may assign appropriate staff with relevant technical and
operational expertise to the Office to carry out the purposes of this
section.
(b)Ambassador-at-Large
for Global Women’s IssuesThe Office shall be headed by an
Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues (referred to in this section as
the Ambassador
), who—
(1)shall be
appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate;
(2)shall report
directly to the Secretary of State; and
(3)shall have the
rank and status of Ambassador-at-Large.
(c)
(1)The Ambassador is authorized to—
(A)coordinate and
advise on activities, policies, programs, and funding of relevant bureaus and
offices of the Department of State, which relate to—
(i)gender
integration;
(ii)women’s and
girls’ economic, social and legal development, protection, improvement in role
and status in societies; and
(iii)prevention and
response to violence against women and girls, including child and forced
marriage;
(B)promote and
advance the full integration of gender analysis into the programs, structures,
processes, and capacities of the Department of State and other Federal
Government agencies conducting international programs;
(C)work with
relevant offices within the Department of State to promote the collection,
retention, and analysis of data on programs and activities of the
Department—
(i)to
integrate gender into its policies and programs;
(ii)regarding the
protection and economic, social, and legal development of women and
girls;
(iii)to improve the
role and status of women and girls in societies; and
(iv)to
prevent and respond to violence against women and girls, including child and
forced marriage; and
(D)in coordination
with relevant bureaus and offices of the Department of State, design support,
and implement relevant activities and programs regarding international girls’
and women’s issues.
(2)The Ambassador is authorized to—
(A)advise and
coordinate with relevant Executive Branch agencies engaged in international
women’s policies and programs, including the Department of Justice, the
Department of Labor, the Department of Education, the Department of Health and
Human Services, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Defense, the
Department of Commerce, the United States Agency for International Development
and the Millennium Challenge Corporation, on policies, programs, and funding of
such agencies relating to women’s issues in their international programs and
policies; and
(B)work with
relevant Executive Branch agencies described in subparagraph (A), to compile
and make public comprehensive information about United States Government
international programs relating to—
(i)the
economic, social, and legal development of women and girls;
(ii)the protection
of women and girls;
(iii)the improvement
of the role and status of women and girls in societies;
(iv)the prevention
of and response to violence against women and girls, including child and forced
marriage; and
(v)the
outcomes and effectiveness of such programs.
(3)Diplomatic
representationSubject to the direction of the President and the
Secretary of State, the Ambassador is authorized to represent the United States
in matters relevant to the status of women internationally.
(d)
(1)The
Ambassador is authorized—
(A)to provide advice
and guidance, as appropriate, to the Federal Government agencies described in
subsection (c)(2)(A); and
(B)on behalf of the
Secretary of State, to convene periodic meetings with other Federal Government
agencies to enhance and ensure effective coordination of policies, programs,
and resources regarding critical issues related to international women’s status
and development.
(2)It is the sense of the Senate that the heads of relevant
Federal Government agencies described in subsection (c)(2)(A) should ensure
effective implementation and coordination of all international women’s policies
and programs by annually sharing information with the Office on programs
described in subsection (c)(2)(B).
(e)Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment
of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Ambassador shall brief Congress on
the integration of gender considerations into its strategies, programming, and
associated outcomes, and interagency cooperation.
(f)Authorization
of appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated such
sums as may be required for each of the fiscal years 2011 through 2015 to carry
out the activities authorized under this section.
4.United States
Agency for International Development Women’s Development Advisor
(a)
(1)There is established, within the United States Agency for
International Development (referred to in this section as
USAID
), the Women’s Development Advisor (referred to in this
section as the Advisor
), who shall—
(A)be appointed by,
and report directly to, the USAID Administrator;
(B)be highly
qualified in the areas of international development and gender integration;
and
(C)participate in
high level strategic policy, planning, operations, and evaluations throughout
all regional and functional disciplines of USAID.
(2)The Office of Women in International Development shall
report directly to the Advisor. The USAID Administrator may assign additional
staff with technical and operational expertise as may be needed to assist the
Advisor in carrying out the purposes of this section.
(b)The
Advisor is authorized to—
(1)coordinate USAID
efforts to integrate gender in foreign assistance design, strategy, and
programs;
(2)coordinate and
consult with the Ambassador;
(3)inform the USAID
Administrator of United States Government policies relating to gender,
including those disseminated by the Ambassador;
(4)collect and make
publicly available data and analysis on gender integration activities, women’s
development, strategies for gender-based violence prevention and response, in
accordance with agency-wide mechanisms for data collection, monitoring, and
evaluation; and
(5)provide
recommendations to the Administrator.
(c)Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment
of this Act, and annually thereafter, the USAID Administrator or the Advisor
shall provide to Congress data collected under subsection (b)(5) on the
integration of gender, women’s development, and gender-based violence
prevention and response into its strategies, programming, and associated
outcomes.
(d)Authorization
of appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated such
sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2011 through 2015 to
carry out the activities authorized under this section.
5.Comptroller
General report
(a)Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit a report to
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate and the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives that provides
a detailed accounting of all United States Government financial
assistance—
(1)to further
international economic, social, and legal development for women and
girls;
(2)to provide
protection for women and girls;
(3)to improve the
role and status of women and girls in societies;
(4)to prevent and
respond to violence against women and girls, including child and forced
marriage; and
(5)to address
related issues.
(b)The
report required under subsection (a) shall include—
(1)a description and
assessment of the programs authorized and funded to address the issues set
forth in paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (a);
(2)an assessment of
the coordination among Federal agencies involved in such programs,
including—
(A)an examination of
the internal coordination within such programs; and
(B)the integration
with the larger global health and development agenda of the United
States;
(3)an assessment of
procurement policies and practices within such programs;
(4)an assessment of
the impact of such efforts; and
(5)recommendations
for improving the coordination and outcomes of such programs and
funding.