Women's Progress Assessment Act

Summary: Women's Progress Assessment Act - Amends Federal census law to require the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to collect, compile, and publish statistics concerning the status of women and girls of all ages in the United States, in foreign countries, and in refugee camps, including statistics in the following priority areas:  (1) participation in the labor force and educational and political institutions; (2) the structure of, care of, and support for families; and (3) fertility regulation behavior and health. 
Requires the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, acting through its regional bureaus as well as its offices of population and women in development, and the Secretary of State, acting through the Bureau for Refugee Programs, to collect the information concerning the foreign countries and refugee camps. 
Requires the Secretary, the Secretary of State, and the Administrator to seek to develop and establish internationally comparable measures and standard methodologies for collection of information on women and their roles in both a large scale quantitative manner and in-depth descriptive manner based on smaller samples, surveys, or case studies.  Requires the U.S. Agency for International Development, the State Department, and the Bureau of the Census to incorporate these measures and methodologies into their current and future data collection effort.  Requires the Bureau of the Census to promote these measures and methodologies in international programs. 
Requires the Secretary to publish the collected statistics, together with information obtained from other Federal entities:  (1) for the United States, in 1997 and every second year thereafter; and (2) for foreign countries, in 1999 and every fifth year thereafter. 
Requires:  (1) the Secretary to establish a Federal Forum on Women's Statistics; and (2) the Forum to meet semiannually to exchange information on current collection and survey initiatives and to avoid duplication of efforts, to identify gaps in data, and to carry out other activities as the Secretary shall designate.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Women's Progress Assessment Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Timely and reliable data on the situation of women in 
        the United States and around the world is critical to the 
        effective implementation of the Platform for Action agreed upon 
        at the International Conference on Population and Development 
        and in evaluating the cost effectiveness of United States 
        domestic and foreign assistance programs.
            (2) Statistics on women exist in every country, including 
        the United States, but are not generally published or analyzed 
        in a form accessible to those, including laypersons, concerned 
        with gender issues.
            (3) Many of the statistical indicators currently used fail 
        to provide a complete picture of women's health and their roles 
        within the family, the economy, and political and social 
        spheres.
            (4) Many topics relevant to gender issues in society have 
        not been adequately measured, such as access to resources, 
        time-use, extent of family responsibilities, and the quality 
        and effectiveness of programs and policies designed to meet 
        women's needs. Efforts to develop appropriate approaches to 
        data collection and to refine old approaches to data collection 
        are required.
            (5) Comparable measurements and standard methodologies for 
        collection and analysis of gender statistics must be integrated 
        into the ongoing programs of the United States Census Bureau's 
        national and international statistical services, and the 
        statistical services funded by United States Agency for 
        International Development, so that they can provide an unbiased 
        basis for the design, implementation and monitoring of 
        programs, policies, and legislation.

SEC. 3. SURVEY OF STATUS OF WOMEN.

    (a) Periodic Surveys Required.--Title 13, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new chapter:

 ``CHAPTER 11--COLLECTION AND PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION ON THE STATUS 
                                OF WOMEN

``Sec.
``501. Collection and publication.
``502. Reports.
``503. Federal Forum on Women's Statistics.
``Sec. 501. Collection and publication
    ``(a) The Secretary shall collect, compile, and publish statistics 
concerning the status of women and girls of all ages in the United 
States, and compile and publish statistics concerning the status of 
women and girls of all ages in foreign countries and in refugee camps, 
including statistics in the following priority areas--
            ``(1) participation in the labor force, and educational and 
        political institutions;
            ``(2) the structure of, care of, and support for families;
            ``(3) fertility regulation behavior and health; and
            ``(4) such additional categories as the Secretary may 
        determine.
    ``(b) To assist the Secretary in carrying out the provisions of 
this chapter in foreign countries and refugee camps, the Administrator 
of the United States Agency for International Development, acting 
through its regional bureaus as well as its offices of population and 
women in development, and the Secretary of State acting through the 
Bureau for Refugee Programs, shall collect the information described in 
this chapter in the form and manner which shall be agreed to between 
the Secretary, the Secretary of State, and the Administrator.
    ``(c) The Secretary, the Secretary of State, and the Administrator 
shall seek to develop and establish internationally comparable measures 
and standard methodologies for collection of information on women and 
their roles under this chapter in both a large scale quantitative 
manner and in-depth descriptive manner based on smaller samples, 
surveys, or case studies. The United States Agency for International 
Development, the State Department, and the Bureau of the Census shall 
incorporate these measures and methodologies into their current and 
future, data collection effort. The Bureau of the Census shall promote 
these measures and methodologies in their international programs.
``Sec. 502. Reports
    ``(a) The Secretary shall publish the statistics collected under 
section 501, together with information obtained from other departments, 
agencies, or establishments of the Federal Government--
            ``(1) for the United States, in 1997 and every second year 
        thereafter; and
            ``(2) for foreign countries, in 1999 and every fifth year 
        thereafter.
    ``(b) Each report under subsection (a) (after the first such 
report) shall include historical comparisons and interpretive 
comparisons on the changes in the status of women since the preceding 
report.
    ``(c) Each report under this section shall be submitted to the 
Congress.
``Sec. 503. Federal Forum on Women's Statistics
    ``(a) To assist in carrying out the provisions in this chapter, the 
Secretary shall establish a Federal Forum on Women's Statistics. The 
Forum may include representatives from appropriate departments, 
agencies, and establishments of the Federal Government that collect, 
compile, analyze, or publish data on the status of women and girls, and 
those entities that receive Federal grants or contracts to collect, 
compile, analyze, or publish data on the status of women and girls.
    ``(b) The Forum shall meet semiannually to exchange information on 
current collection and survey initiatives and to avoid duplication of 
efforts, to identify gaps in data, and to carry out other activities as 
the Secretary shall designate.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of chapters at the beginning of 
title 13, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``11. Collection and publication of information on the           501''.
                            status of women.