[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 12 (Monday, March 29, 1993)]
[Pages 463-464]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6537--Women's History Month, 1993

 March 19, 1993

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    As we celebrate Women's History Month, we reflect on the American 
women who throughout history have proudly served in shaping the spirit 
of our Nation.
    Women like Harriet Tubman, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Sojourner 
Truth embraced the struggle for human freedom, dignity, and justice. 
They opposed slavery and inequality at critical moments in history. 
Their courageous leadership helped pave the way for future generations 
who would strive to secure equal rights for women.
    We are inspired by women like Jane Addams, the first female Nobel 
prize winner, who at the turn of the century founded Chicago's Hull 
House to help newly arrived immigrants adapt to a foreign culture. We 
admire women such as Belva Lockwood, who became the first woman admitted 
to practice before the United States Supreme Court in 1879. And we 
cannot forget the long struggle of women like Frances Perkins, whose 
work to protect the health and safety of America's workers culminated in 
her service as Secretary of Labor, the Nation's first woman Cabinet 
officer.
    These courageous and pioneering women worked tirelessly to achieve 
new opportunities for all. Today, empowered by this great legacy, 
American women serve in every aspect of American life, from social 
services to space exploration. The opportunities for American women are 
growing, and their efforts as mothers and volunteers, corporate 
executives and senators, police officers and administrators, 
construction workers and cab drivers, and teachers and scientists enrich 
all of us and make our country great. Women continue to strengthen our 
Nation's social fabric as leaders in the home, the community, the 
workplace, and the government.
    The challenges facing women in the next century are many. Families 
are increasingly called upon to care for their grown children and 
elderly relatives. Many women are com- 

[[Page 464]]

pelled to support families as single parents. The social stresses of our 
era demand the incredible resourcefulness, devotion, and energy of 
millions of women. Through their endeavors, women are producing a 
heightened national consciousness and more responsive public policies 
that meet the needs of our people.
    As we honor the courageous legacy of our Nation's women, we 
celebrate the diversity of their backgrounds, their talents, and their 
contributions, which breathe life into our democracy and sustain our 
prosperity.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and 
laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 1993 as Women's 
History Month. I invite all Americans to observe this month with 
appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this nineteenth day 
of March, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-three, and 
of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
seventeenth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 2:23 p.m., March 22, 
1993]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on March 
24. This item was not received in time for publication in the 
appropriate issue.