[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 73 (Monday, April 15, 1996)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 16613-16614]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-9408]



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  Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 73 / Monday, April 15, 1996 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 16613]]


                Proclamation 6883 of April 11, 1996

                
National Pay Inequity Awareness Day, 1996

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                 More than three decades after the passage of the Equal 
                Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, women 
                and people of color continue to suffer the consequences 
                of unfair pay differentials. In comparing median weekly 
                earnings, last year American women earned only 75 cents 
                for every dollar a man brought home, with African 
                American women and Hispanic women collecting just 66 
                cents and 57 cents, respectively. Significant wage gaps 
                exist for African American and Hispanic men, Asians, 
                Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans as well.

                April 11 is the day on which American women's wages for 
                1996, when added to their entire 1995 earnings, finally 
                equal what men earned in 1995 alone. Unfair pay 
                practices exist at all education levels and in every 
                occupation. Last year, women physicians and lawyers 
                earned substantially less than their male counterparts. 
                The problem is particularly acute in female-dominated 
                professions and in jobs where minority groups are 
                disproportionately represented. Though changing 
                technologies and a growing demand for services have 
                made their positions increasingly vital, America's 
                child care providers, secretaries, textile workers, 
                telephone operators, social workers, and maintenance 
                people are among those who bear the greatest wage 
                discrepancies.

                Ensuring fair pay is an essential part of helping women 
                and their families become and remain self-sufficient. 
                According to 1993 data, the vast majority of households 
                depend on the wages of a working mother, and 12 percent 
                of all families are supported by a woman working as the 
                single head of household. Studies show that salary 
                inequities often force women to turn to public 
                assistance to keep a roof over their children's heads 
                and food on the table.

                Fair pay equity policies can be implemented simply and 
                without incurring undue costs. Twenty States have 
                already established programs aimed at increasing the 
                wages of employees in female-dominated jobs, and many 
                private sector businesses have implemented voluntary 
                policies. These employers understand that fair pay is 
                an invaluable human resource management tool that helps 
                attract and retain the best workers.

                At the Fourth World Conference on Women held in 
                Beijing, China, the United States joined more than 180 
                other countries to address problems facing women and to 
                promote workers' basic rights. This was an important 
                step, and we must build on it to further the dialogue 
                about fair pay and treatment in this country. Women and 
                minority workers have long fueled our Nation's 
                progress, and we must do all we can to recognize their 
                achievements and to leave a legacy of equality and 
                justice for their children to cherish.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United 
                States, do hereby proclaim April 11, 1996, as National 
                Pay Inequity Awareness Day. I call upon Government 
                officials, law enforcement agencies, business and 
                industry leaders, educators, and all the people of the 
                United States to recognize the full value of women's 
                skills and

[[Page 16614]]

                contributions to the labor force. I urge all employers 
                to review their wage-setting practices and to see that 
                their employees, particularly women and people of 
                color, are paid fairly for their work.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                eleventh day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen 
                hundred and ninety-six, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and twentieth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 96-9408
Filed 4-12-96; 10:15 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P