WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama invoked his grandmother, single mother and two young daughters Wednesday in creating a White House panel to advise him on issues facing women and girls.
Obama, standing with prominent members of his administration and with his wife sitting nearby, signed an executive order creating an across-the-government council designed to help Cabinet agencies and departments collaborate on ways to make sure women were provided opportunities offered to men.
“I sign this order not just as a president, but as a son, a grandson, a husband and a father because, growing up, I saw my mother put herself through school and follow her passion for helping others,” Obama said. “But I also saw how she struggled to raise me and my sister on her own, worrying about how she’d pay the bills and educate herself and provide for us.”
He said he signed the order to honor all the women who came before him, such as his grandmother who was a bank vice president but was denied promotions because of her gender. He said the fight for gender equality is far from over.
“So now it’s up to us to carry that work forward, to ensure that our daughters and granddaughters have no limits on their dreams, no obstacles to their achievements — and that they have opportunities their mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers never dreamed of,” Obama said. “That’s the purpose of this council; those are the priorities of my presidency.”
Obama named senior adviser Valerie Jarrett — a single mother — to head the group, which would include Cabinet secretaries and other administration officials. White House aide Tina Tchen will run its day-to-day operations.
The announcement was part of the administration’s push to mark Women’s History Month.
Later Wednesday at the State Department, first lady Michelle Obama joined Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to present the department’s Award for International Women of Courage to seven female activists from Afghanistan, Guatemala, Iraq, Malaysia, Niger, Russia and Uzbekistan who have fought to end discrimination and inequality.
U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., applauded the move. “The new White House Council is an important step toward ensuring that all Americans, regardless of gender, have an equal chance to pursue the American dream.”
