[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 10 (Monday, March 10, 1997)]
[Pages 275-276]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

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Proclamation 6975--Women's History Month, 1997

March 3, 1997

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Throughout the history of our Nation, women have played a pivotal 
role in bringing about positive change to every aspect of American life, 
and their achievements continue to touch the lives of every single 
citizen. Women's History Month honors the women who made these 
accomplishments possible, securing their rightful place in history among 
those who have made our country great. This month, we celebrate these 
women's lives--and renew our commitment to breaking down the gender 
barriers that still exist.
    Through their courage, foresight, and community spirit over the 
years, American women have created a world of opportunity for today's 
heroines and role models--women such as Secretary of State Madeleine 
Albright, the highest ranking woman to serve in any presidential 
administration; Dr. Shannon W. Lucid, who has performed five historic 
and complex Space Shuttle missions during 18 years with NASA and 
recently broke the American and women's world record for continuous time 
in space; Oseola McCarty, who in 1995 donated the life savings she had 
earned as a maid to fund scholarships at the University of Mississippi; 
and Julie Su, the young attorney who first came to prominence through 
her efforts to expose illegal exploitation of Thai immigrants in a 
California sweatshop and who continues to help immigrants to secure 
proper medical care, employment, and the dignity they deserve. The 
pioneers in women's history would be proud of today's women pioneers.
    As we approach the 21st century, we have reached another significant 
milestone in our Nation's history: Women have approached an almost equal 
share in the labor force. Thus, it is more important than ever that we 
enable women and men to meet their responsibilities at work and at home.
    Women continue to break the glass ceiling, changing their status 
from employee to employer. Today, women-owned businesses are creating 
one out of every four jobs in the United States. From the classroom to 
the board room, women now occupy every part of the work force, building 
the kinds of lives for themselves and their families that are the heart 
of the American Dream.
    Women's History Month provides Americans with an opportunity to 
celebrate the contributions of all the women who have enriched our 
Nation, to honor their legacy, and to reflect upon what we can all do to 
end discrimination against women. I encourage all Americans to learn 
from, and share information about, women's history in their workplaces, 
classrooms, and family rooms. As every family has its own heroes, so 
does our country. Only by studying the history of America's women can we 
fully understand the history of America.
    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 of America, do hereby 
proclaim March 1997, as Women's History Month. I ask educators, 
Government officials, and all citizens to observe this month with 
appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities, remembering not only 
this month but also every month the many different contributions that 
women make every day.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this third day of 
March, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-seven, and of 
the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
twenty-first.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., March 4, 
1997]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on March 
5.

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