[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
Presidential Documents
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