Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 221 / Friday, November 17, 2023 / Presidential Documents 80085 

Memorandum of November 13, 2023 

White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research 

Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies 

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the 

laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows: 

Section 1. Policy. Women make up half of the United States population, 

but for too long, a lack of timely research and data on women’s health 

has left health care providers without important tools to diagnose and treat 

millions of women with debilitating conditions, including cardiovascular 

disease, Alzheimer’s disease, autoimmune disorders, mental health conditions, and conditions specific to women such as endometriosis and fibroids. 

Beyond the immediate health consequences, underinvesting in women’s 

health research can decrease women’s well-being and quality of life, hold 

women back in the workplace, and affect their families’ economic security. 

By contrast, increasing investments in women’s health research can yield 

broad societal gains, including lower health care costs and a more productive 

and inclusive workforce. 

To address pervasive gaps in our knowledge of women’s health, we must 

accelerate research on the unique health needs of women across their lifespans. Research gaps are especially acute for diseases and conditions that 

are more prevalent among women and for health conditions associated with 

women’s midlife and later years, including perimenopause and menopause. 

Gaps are often even more significant for those who have been historically 

underrepresented in, or excluded from, research. 

We can—and must—increase our efforts to invest in research that maximizes 

our ability to prevent, diagnose, and treat health conditions in women across 

the United States. Meaningful progress requires robust, dedicated research 

infrastructure—including a strong, diverse research workforce—and investment within and beyond the Federal Government. We all have a part to 

play in galvanizing women’s health research, developing innovative and 

cutting-edge interventions that promote women’s health, and ensuring that 

women across the United States have access to high-quality health care. 

Accordingly, I hereby direct the following actions: 

Sec. 2. Establishment. There is established, within the Office of the First 

Lady, a White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research (Initiative). 

Sec. 3. Membership. (a) The Initiative shall be led by a Chair designated 

by the President who shall hold a dual role in the Office of the First 

Lady and on the staff of the White House Gender Policy Council. 

(b) In addition to the Chair, the members of the Initiative shall consist 

of the heads of the following executive departments and agencies (agencies) 

and offices, or their designees: 

(i) the Office of the Vice President; 

(ii) the Department of Defense; 

(iii) the Department of Agriculture; 

(iv) the Department of Health and Human Services; 

(v) the Department of Veterans Affairs; 

(vi) the Environmental Protection Agency; 


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(vii) the Office of Management and Budget; 

(viii) the Domestic Policy Council; 

(ix) the Office of Science and Technology Policy; 

(x) the National Science Foundation; 

(xi) the National Institutes of Health; 

(xii) the Food and Drug Administration; 

(xiii) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 

(xiv) the Indian Health Service; 

(xv) the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; 

(xvi) the Health Resources and Services Administration; 

(xvii) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; 

(xviii) the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 

(xix) the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health; 

(xx) the National Institutes of Health Office of Research on Women’s 

Health; and 

(xxi) the heads of such other agencies and offices as the Chair may, 

from time to time, designate. 

(c) The Department of Health and Human Services shall provide funding 

and administrative support as may be necessary for the performance and 

functions of the Initiative, to the extent permitted by law and within existing 

appropriations. 

(d) At the direction of the Chair, the Initiative may establish subgroups 

consisting exclusively of Initiative members or their designees, as appropriate, 

including to coordinate across agency offices dedicated to women’s health. 

Sec. 4. Mission and Functions. (a) The mission of the Initiative is to advance 

women’s health research in the United States. The functions of the Initiative 

are advisory only and shall include, consistent with applicable law, the 

following actions with the goal of advancing women’s health research: 

(i) assessing the Federal research landscape to identify opportunities for 

additional investments that could catalyze significant progress in addressing women’s health needs; 

(ii) setting Initiative-wide priorities to help guide strategic Federal research 

investments; 

(iii) improving coordination among agencies and offices pursuing women’s 

health research, including by better integrating research efforts and facilitating interdisciplinary research; 

(iv) developing policy recommendations to better ensure that the health 

needs of women are considered, assessed, and reported for Federal research 

and data collection efforts, where feasible and in accordance with current 

research and data collection and analysis guidelines; 

(v) forming targeted recommendations to address health disparities and 

inequities affecting women, including those related to race, ethnicity, age, 

socioeconomic status, disability, and exposure to environmental factors 

and contaminants that can directly affect health; 

(vi) developing recommendations to support the translation of research 

advancements into practical benefits for patients and providers; 

(vii) identifying opportunities to develop public-private partnerships and 

to increase coordination of Federal efforts with the private and philanthropic sectors in order to drive innovation; 

(viii) engaging the scientific and research communities, including by helping promote the publication and dissemination of actionable research and 

data on women’s health and by making Federal datasets available to 

support research; 


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(ix) assessing opportunities to recruit, train, and support women pursuing 

health and biomedical research careers to help strengthen and diversify 

the research workforce; and 

(x) identifying ways to increase public awareness of the need for greater 

investment in and attention to women’s health research, as well as women’s 

health outcomes. 

(b) Consistent with the objectives of this memorandum and applicable 

law, the Initiative may gather relevant information from external stakeholders, 

including Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial government officials; 

researchers and academics; women’s health organizations; philanthropic leaders; industry stakeholders; and other entities and persons that may assist 

the Initiative in accomplishing the objectives of this memorandum. 

Sec. 5. Recommendations to the President. (a) Within 45 days of the date 

of this memorandum, the members of the Initiative or their designees shall 

provide recommendations to the President, through the Chair, on concrete 

actions that agencies and offices can take to advance women’s health research. 

(b) The heads of agencies and offices participating in the Initiative shall 

assist and provide information to the Chair, consistent with applicable law, 

as may be necessary to carry out the functions of the Initiative. Each participating agency and office shall bear its own expense for participating in 

the Initiative. 

(c) The heads of agencies and offices participating in the Initiative, or 

their designees, shall inform the President, through the Chair, on progress 

implementing this memorandum at least twice each year. 

Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: 

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, 

or the head thereof; or 

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 

relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. 

(b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable 

law and subject to the availability of appropriations. 

(c) 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. 


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(d) The Secretary of Health and Human Services is authorized and directed 

to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register. 

THE WHITE HOUSE, 

Washington, November 13, 2023 

[FR Doc. 2023–25632 

Filed 11–16–23; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 4150–42–P 


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