[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 14 (Monday, April 12, 1999)]
[Pages 601-602]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7179--National Equal Pay Day, 1999

April 7, 1999

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    We live in a time of remarkable promise. Our Nation's economy is the 
strongest we have experienced in a generation, creating more than 18 
million new jobs since 1993 and the fastest growth in real wages in more 
than two decades. American women have contributed greatly to this record 
of success; unfortunately, they have not enjoyed an

[[Page 602]]

equal share in the prosperity they have helped to create.
    The typical woman who works full-time year-round earns approximately 
75 cents for every dollar the typical man earns. An African American 
woman earns just 65 cents and a Hispanic woman earns 55 cents for each 
dollar that a white man earns. In the course of a week, this pay gap can 
mean one less bag of groceries, skipping a trip to the doctor, missing a 
rent payment, or not being able to pay for day care. Over the course of 
a working lifetime, it can mean thousands of dollars, a smaller pension, 
and fewer savings to provide for a comfortable retirement. And when a 
working woman is denied equal pay, it doesn't just hurt her; it also 
hurts her family. In more than 10 million American households today, the 
mother is the only breadwinner.
    Americans have always believed in justice and equality. We have 
always believed that those who work hard should be able to provide a 
decent living for themselves and their children. If we are to live up to 
those ideals, we must ensure that women do not suffer wage 
discrimination. We must continue vigorous enforcement of existing laws, 
such as the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, so that 
no employer under-values or underpays the work performed by women. To 
strengthen Department of Labor and Equal Employment Opportunity 
Commission efforts to end wage discrimination and expand opportunities 
in the workplace for women, my Administration has included a $14 million 
Equal Pay Initiative in my proposed balanced budget for fiscal year 
2000. This initiative will provide more resources to identify wage 
discrimination, to educate workers and employers about their rights and 
responsibilities, and to bring more women into better-paying jobs. We 
will also work with the Congress to pass the proposed Paycheck Fairness 
Act--legislation designed to strengthen laws that prohibit wage 
discrimination.
    As we observe National Equal Pay Day, let us reaffirm our commitment 
to justice and equality in the workplace, and let us build a Nation for 
the 21st century where the talents, efforts, and hard work of American 
women will be rightly appreciated and fairly rewarded.
    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 April 8, 1999, as National Equal Pay Day. I call upon 
Government officials, law enforcement agencies, business leaders, 
educators, and the American people to recognize the full value of the 
skills and contributions of women in the labor force. I urge all 
employers to review their wage practices and to ensure that all their 
employees are paid equitably for their work.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this seventh day of 
April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-nine, and of 
the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
twenty-third.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., April 8, 
1999]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on April 
9.