[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 46 (Wednesday, March 9, 2011)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 12823-12824]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-5568]


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  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