[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