[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 163 (Monday, August 24, 1998)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 45165-45166]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-22855]



[[Page 45163]]

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Part VII





The President





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Proclamation 7116--Women's Equality Day, 1998
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  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 163 / Monday, August 24, 1998 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 45165]]

                Proclamation 7116 of August 20, 1998

                
Women's Equality Day, 1998

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Since the earliest days of our democracy, Americans 
                have taken great pride and found great purpose in our 
                pursuit of equality. It is a right for which many have 
                bravely struggled and the ideal that challenges us even 
                today to build a more perfect union and to forge a 
                future in which our children know no boundaries to 
                their dreams. Each year, on Women's Equality Day, we 
                rededicate ourselves to the pursuit of full equality 
                for women and girls in our society.

                This year, as we reflect on the magnificent journey and 
                the extraordinary heroines and heroes of the women's 
                rights movement in America, we celebrate the 150th 
                anniversary of the first women's rights convention, 
                which took place in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848 and 
                set our Nation on a course toward equality. It was at 
                this historic gathering that pioneers such as Elizabeth 
                Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Mary Ann McClintock, and 
                Frederick Douglass signed the Declaration of 
                Sentiments--a document unequivocally affirming that all 
                men and women are created equal. Encouraged by the 
                truth of their convictions, these determined women and 
                men set out to make equality for women a reality in 
                America.

                In the decades following the convention at Seneca 
                Falls, many of the rights expressed in the prophetic 
                Declaration of Sentiments became law. The ratification 
                of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution secured a 
                woman's right to vote; the passage of the Civil Rights 
                Act of 1964 barred employment discrimination; and the 
                enactment of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 
                1972 guaranteed equal opportunity in education and 
                sports.

                This year, we recognize another milestone on the road 
                to women's equality: the 35th anniversary of the 
                enactment of the Equal Pay Act, which for the first 
                time in our Nation's history guaranteed equal pay to 
                women who perform the same jobs as men. Only a 
                generation ago, a woman could legally be paid less for 
                her time and talent solely because of her gender. 
                Today, we realize that the denial of equal pay not only 
                unfairly limits a woman's ability to provide for her 
                family's economic security, but also diminishes her 
                dignity by belittling the value of her labor.

                While we have made progress in closing this pay gap in 
                the 35 years since the enactment of the Equal Pay Act, 
                women today continue to make less than men for the same 
                work--earning 76 cents for every dollar paid to a man. 
                As we celebrate the Equal Pay Act's anniversary, we 
                must reaffirm our commitment to making equal pay for 
                equal work a reality in the workplace. My 
                Administration supports new proposed legislation that 
                will close the pay gap completely, strengthen 
                enforcement of the Equal Pay Act, and toughen penalties 
                for violations.

[[Page 45166]]

                My Administration is striving to ensure women's 
                equality in other areas of our society. We have 
                dramatically increased the funding for research, 
                prevention, and treatment of diseases that 
                predominantly affect women. Through the Family and 
                Medical Leave Act that I signed and our proposed child 
                care initiative, we are working to help women balance 
                their responsibilities at home and on the job. During 
                the past 5 years, the Small Business Administration has 
                tripled loans to women-owned businesses, and we have 
                strengthened enforcement of Title IX to ensure that 
                education programs, activities, and institutions 
                receiving Federal funds do not discriminate on the 
                basis of gender.

                 On Women's Equality Day, as we look back on what we 
                have accomplished, we also recognize how far we have to 
                go before we complete the journey that began so long 
                ago. As women continue to distinguish themselves in 
                boardrooms, classrooms, courtrooms, and family rooms 
                across America, we must renew our efforts to empower 
                all women with the rights and opportunities promised by 
                our founders and fought for by the heroic women and men 
                whose achievements we honor today.

                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 August 26, 1998, as Women's 
                Equality Day. I call upon the citizens of our great 
                Nation to observe this day with appropriate programs 
                and activities.

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

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 98-22855
Filed 8-21-98; 10:19 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P