    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 124, 111th Congress, 2nd Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    PROCLAMATION 8533--JUNE 10, 2010

    Proclamation 8533 of June 10, 2010
    90th Anniversary of the Department of Labor Women's Bureau, 2010
    By the President of the United States of America
    A Proclamation

    Throughout our history, American women have played a vital role in the
    growth and vitality of our Nation's economy. They have tirelessly
    balanced responsibilities to work, family, and community, strengthening
    our economic leadership and enriching our national life. Today, there
    are more women in America's workforce than ever before, yet they still
    face significant obstacles to equal economic opportunity and
    advancement.
    Recognizing the challenges women confronted in the workforce, the
    Congress established the Women's Bureau in the Department of Labor on
    June 5, 1920, 2 months before women gained the right to vote. For the
    past 90 years, the Women's Bureau has been a champion for working women
    nationwide through its commitment to advancing employment opportunities,
    improving their working conditions, and helping them achieve economic
    security.
    As women surged into the labor force, the Women's Bureau tackled the
    barriers to their economic advancement. Early in its history, the
    Women's Bureau advocated for the successful inclusion of women under the
    Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, establishing minimum wages and maximum
    working hours. The Bureau also played an instrumental role in the
    passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963. And the first law that I signed as
    President--the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act--builds upon
    these vital protections to ensure people subjected to discrimination
    have better access to a remedy.
    Equal economic opportunity and wage parity are not simply women's
    issues--they are American issues. As a Nation, we must recommit to the
    enduring vision of the Women's Bureau and work to support all wage-
    earning women. With the hard-fought progress of the past as a

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    foundation, we can build a better and brighter tomorrow, one in which
    our daughters have an equal right and opportunity to pursue the American
    Dream.
    NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, 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 June 11, 2010, as the
    90th Anniversary of the Department of Labor Women's Bureau. I call upon
    all Americans to observe this anniversary with appropriate programs,
    ceremonies, and activities that honor the Bureau's history,
    accomplishments, and contributions to working women.
    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this tenth day of June,
    in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the
    United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.
    BARACK OBAMA