[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 72 (Tuesday, April 15, 1997)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 18497-18498]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-9893]



[[Page 18495]]

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Part III





The President





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Proclamation 6985--National Pay Inequity Awareness Day, 1997
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  Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 72 / Tuesday, April 15, 1997 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 18497]]

                Proclamation 6985 of April 10, 1997

                
National Pay Inequity Awareness Day, 1997

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                 Although more than three decades have passed since the 
                Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act 
                were signed into law, women working full-time and year 
                round in the United States, on average, still earn only 
                71 percent of the wages earned by men. This means that, 
                for the 1996 calendar year, the wages of the average 
                American female worker will not match those of the 
                average male worker until April 11 of this year.

                 Although the pay gap has narrowed over the past two 
                decades, unfair pay practices persist in many U.S. 
                business sectors. Paying a woman less than a male co-
                worker with equal skills and job responsibilities hurts 
                that woman and her family--not only in immediate 
                material benefit, but also in her ability to invest and 
                save for retirement. Working women deserve--and are 
                demanding--fair and equal pay for their time spent on 
                the job. Over a quarter of a million women surveyed by 
                the Department of Labor indicated that ``improving pay 
                scales'' is one of their highest priorities in bringing 
                fairness to the workplace.

                 To address this problem, my Administration has moved 
                on several fronts simultaneously: I signed the increase 
                in the minimum wage into law, initiated a pension 
                education campaign, strengthened equal employment law 
                enforcement, and created a Women's Bureau Fair Pay 
                Clearinghouse at the Department of Labor, which 
                disseminates information on working women's wages and 
                occupations and on organizations that are active in 
                improving women's wages. In addition, my 
                Administration, with over 200 private-sector partners, 
                has formed the American Savings Education Council to 
                educate women and men on how they can ensure their 
                financial independence in retirement. Together with 
                renewed attention focused on the reality of pay 
                inequity and what it means for working women across the 
                country, these initiatives create real opportunities 
                for employers, working women, and organizations to 
                develop new and effective approaches that achieve pay 
                equity.

                Strong enforcement of equal employment laws also plays 
                a critical role in resolving unfair pay. The Equal 
                Employment Opportunity Commission enforces laws that 
                make it illegal to discriminate in wages, or to limit 
                or segregate job applicants or employees in any way 
                that would deprive them of opportunities because of 
                sex, race, color, religion, age, national origin, or 
                disability.

                The Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract 
                Compliance Programs enforces nondiscrimination and 
                affirmative action laws that apply to employers that do 
                business with the Federal Government, ensuring that 
                Government contractors prevent and remedy 
                discrimination and resolve matters of pay equity.

                 It is vital that we aggressively enforce our pay 
                equity laws. Women deserve to be rewarded on an equal 
                basis for their contributions to the American work 
                force.

                 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 of America, do hereby proclaim April 
                11,

[[Page 18498]]

                1997, 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 the skills and contributions of women in the labor 
                force.

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

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 97-9893
Filed 4-14-97; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P