[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 167 (Wednesday, August 28, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 68773-68775]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-19444]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 167 / Wednesday, August 28, 2024 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 68773]]


                Proclamation 10794 of August 23, 2024

                
Women's Equality Day, 2024

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                One hundred and four years ago, American women won the 
                right to vote with the ratification of the 19th 
                Amendment, bringing us closer to living up to our 
                Nation's most fundamental values of dignity, fairness, 
                freedom, and equality. On Women's Equality Day, we 
                recognize the courage of generations of visionaries who 
                fought tirelessly for the sacred cause of women's 
                suffrage and all those who continue to work toward a 
                more equitable future for women and girls in America.

                The 19th Amendment marked a critical milestone in our 
                Nation's history, but it did not guarantee the right to 
                vote for all. For many women of color, that right would 
                not be secured until decades later when the Voting 
                Rights Act was passed in 1965. Today, our Nation is 
                still facing relentless assaults on the sacred right to 
                vote freely and fairly and to have every vote count. At 
                the same time, women's fundamental rights are under 
                attack, which undermines our democracy and our 
                freedoms. These challenges serve as a critical reminder 
                that our work as a Nation is never done--realizing the 
                full promise of the 19th Amendment is as important 
                today as ever before.

                My Administration is committed to upholding the vision 
                of suffragists, who understood that equality at the 
                ballot box was a critical step to advancing rights and 
                opportunities for American women. Over the past three 
                and a half years, Vice President Harris and I have 
                leveraged the full force of the Federal Government to 
                protect those rights and remove barriers that prevent 
                women and girls from reaching their full potential. We 
                are defending reproductive freedom, delivering the 
                highest women's prime-age labor force participation and 
                the narrowest gender pay gap on record, making historic 
                investments in the care economy, fighting to end 
                violence against women, increasing access to 
                educational opportunity, and promoting women's 
                representation, leadership, and human rights here at 
                home and around the globe.

                Guaranteeing women access to affordable, quality health 
                care has also been a top priority for my 
                Administration. That is why we have been working to 
                address the maternal health crisis, with Vice President 
                Kamala Harris announcing our Blueprint for Addressing 
                the Maternal Health Crisis. Furthermore, in addition to 
                issuing an Executive Order directing the most 
                comprehensive set of executive actions to expand 
                research on women's health, last year the First Lady 
                and I were proud to launch the first-ever White House 
                Initiative on Women's Health Research, and the Advanced 
                Research Projects Agency for Health has dedicated $100 
                million to solve challenges in women's health. As part 
                of the Biden Cancer Moonshot, we are taking significant 
                actions to save and improve the lives of the millions 
                of American women facing cancer. During my first year 
                in office, we expanded coverage under the Affordable 
                Care Act, which requires insurers to pay for cancer 
                screenings and primary care visits, including those 
                that will detect cancer early when outcomes are best. 
                Furthermore, I have taken action to safeguard access to 
                reproductive care--and the Vice President and I will 
                keep calling on the Congress to restore Roe v. Wade as 
                the law of the land. Americans

[[Page 68774]]

                show time and again that they agree that health care 
                decisions should be made by a woman with the help of 
                her doctor, not politicians--and we will continue 
                fighting to ensure that women can access the health 
                care they need in every State.

                To be the strongest economy in the world, we cannot 
                leave women--who make up half our workforce--behind. 
                Through our American Rescue Plan, my Administration 
                made the biggest investment in child care ever, helping 
                over 225,000 child care programs that serve 10 million 
                children across the country keep their doors open and 
                enabling parents, especially mothers, to enter or 
                remain in the workforce. We have taken steps to advance 
                pay equity and transparency for Federal employees and 
                contractors, eliminating practices that allow pay 
                discrimination to follow workers from job to job and 
                helping workers better negotiate and reduce pay 
                inequities. We are also ensuring that women have access 
                to the millions of good-paying jobs created by the 
                Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science 
                Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act.

                Women and girls deserve to live free from violence and 
                fear. Next month marks 30 years since the Congress 
                passed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)--a 
                historic law that I championed and wrote. VAWA gave our 
                Government more comprehensive tools to prevent and 
                prosecute sexual assault, provide support for 
                survivors, and save countless women's lives. Today, 
                this law, which I reauthorized in 2022, has record 
                funding levels and grant programs. In addition, my 
                Administration is working to address online harassment 
                and abuse, including image-based sexual abuse generated 
                by artificial intelligence. And we restored and 
                strengthened vital protections under Title IX for 
                students who have experienced campus sexual assault and 
                other forms of sex discrimination in schools and 
                universities.

                Since I took office, I have been proud to serve 
                alongside the first woman ever elected as Vice 
                President, Kamala Harris, and to have appointed women 
                to the highest levels of my Administration, including a 
                record number of female Cabinet Secretaries. I 
                established the White House Gender Policy Council to 
                advance the rights of women and girls at home and 
                abroad. My Administration released the first-ever 
                National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality. And 
                during Women's History Month this year, I signed an 
                Executive Order to increase the representation of 
                women's history in the National Park System and to help 
                honor the legacy and contributions of women and girls 
                to our country.

                My Administration will continue to fight for every 
                American's sacred right to vote--carrying on the legacy 
                of the suffragists we celebrate today. I continue to 
                call on the Congress to pass the John Lewis Voting 
                Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act to 
                restore and expand access to the ballot and prevent 
                voter suppression--because every American's voice 
                deserves to be heard.

                We are making tremendous progress, but more must be 
                done to ensure equal rights and opportunity for women 
                and girls. I urge the Congress to recognize the 
                ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment and affirm 
                the fundamental truth that all Americans should have 
                equal rights and protections under the law. This 
                Women's Equality Day, let us recommit to building a 
                country and a world where our daughters have the same 
                opportunities as our sons. Because when women thrive, 
                we all thrive.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, by virtue of the 
                authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws 
                of the United States, do hereby proclaim August 26, 
                2024, as Women's Equality Day. I call upon the people 
                of the United States to celebrate and continue to build 
                on our country's progress toward gender equality and to 
                defend and strengthen the right to vote.

[[Page 68775]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-third day of August, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                ninth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2024-19444
Filed 8-27-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P