Women will soon have a larger voice in the White House.

President Obama plans on signing an executive order today establishing the White House Council on Women and Girls, which will deal with the role women play in the U.S. economy, among other issues. "The mission of the council will be to provide a coordinated federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls and to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and families," the White House says.

Obama friend Valerie Jarrett will head the panel, but White House Office of Public Liaison Director Tina Tchen will run day-to-day operations. First Lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, Vice President Joe Biden’s wife, will attend Wednesday’s signing ceremony.

A large number of women’s groups had asked the president to set up a Cabinet-level division to focus on women. WomenCount told wOw in December that they hoped Obama would gather the country’s best female minds from a variety of political, economic and philosophical backgrounds, to deal with issues such as equal pay for equal work, a better health-care system, the economy, foreign policy and even Iraq.

Last week, Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a new ambassador-at-large post for global women’s issues. Nonprofit CEO Melanne Verveer will be nominated for the post. 

Though we have no idea how effective these groups will be, these are definitely steps in the right direction.