Initial Guidance Regarding President Trump’s Executive Order Defending Women

This memorandum directed immediate government-wide implementation of Executive Order 14,168, which established a federal policy of only recognizing two sex and declaring that sex is an immutable characteristic determined at birth. With a deadlinetwo days after the memo was issued, agencies were required to: send an all-employee email announcing compliance; terminate any programs, contracts, or grants promoting "gender ideology" as defined by the order; place on paid administrative leave any employees whose position descriptions involve promoting or inculcating gender ideology; take down all external-facing websites and social media content promoting gender ideology; disable Outlook and other email features that prompt users for pronouns; withdraw any pending regulations, directives, forms, or communications promoting gender ideology; cancel related training programs; disband employee resource groups or special emphasis programs related to gender ideology; and update all agency forms to list "male" or "female" only, removing any reference to gender identity. Agencies were then required to report to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) by noon on February 7, 2025, on all steps taken. This memo was subsequently superseded by a more comprehensive OPM guidance memo issued July 10, 2025.