Marking the first anniversary of the signing of President Joe Biden’s second Executive Order on equity, federal agencies, including all Cabinet-level agencies, are releasing their 2023 Equity Action Plans.
It include more than 100 community-informed strategies and actions to address systemic barriers in the Nation’s policies and programs.
The Department of Labor will implement Good Jobs Principles aimed at improving wages in female dominated sectors and administer the Fostering Access, Rights, and Equity grant program for women impacted by gender-based violence and harassment in the workplace.
To combat property appraisal bias, the Department of Housing and Urban Development will partner with the National Association of Real Estate Brokers to tackle appraisal bias and discrimination in the housing market.
The Department of Transportation will implement the Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhood Grants Program.
The Department of Health and Human Services will improve maternal health outcomes to combat the maternal health crisis which disproportionally impacts Black women, Native women, and women in rural communities by addressing gaps in insurance coverage and disparities in the birthing care infrastructure.
The Biden Administration also released a new White House Progress Report on Equity, which highlights examples of the more than 650 actions agencies have undertaken since the release of their 2022 Equity Action Plans.
“As we mark the one-year anniversary of the second equity Executive Order, we celebrate the hundreds of government-wide equity accomplishments and recommit to addressing the barriers that remain,” said Vice President Kamala Harris. “Together, we will continue to advance equity across the federal government, not only in hiring and appointments but in the historic investments we are making in communities that had been overlooked for far too long.”
The Department of Agriculture will help close the summer hunger gap for children eligible for free and reduced price school meals by implementing new summer nutrition options, including to-go or home-delivered summer meals in certain rural communities and a summer grocery benefit for children known as Summer EBT.
To improve the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Individual Assistance program to advance equity, FEMA will be simplifying processes, removing barriers, and increasing eligibility to reach more disaster survivors.
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