[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 9 (Monday, March 6, 2000)]
[Pages 415-416]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7277--Women's History Month, 2000

February 29, 2000

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Last spring, three women astronauts paused during a shuttle mission 
to pay homage to the past. Thousands of miles into space, floating above 
the floor of the shuttle, they raised a women's suffrage banner and 
posed for a picture. Astronaut Ellen Ochoa, a participant in this 
special tribute and a member of the President's Commission on the 
Celebration of Women in American History, said, ``We wanted to show how 
far women have come in this century and to honor the people who fought 
for our rights.'' Each year during the month of March, citizens across 
our country pause to honor the

[[Page 416]]

many heroes whose diligence and determination have helped to forge our 
Nation and enable people like Ellen Ochoa and her colleagues to soar so 
high.
    Women's History Month is about highlighting the extraordinary 
achievements of women throughout our history, while recognizing the 
equally significant obstacles they had to overcome along the road to 
success. It is about the women who bravely donned uniforms and fought 
for our country. It is about the passion and vision of women educators 
like Mary McLeod Bethune, who, with only $1.50 in her pocket, founded a 
school for young black women. It is about the perseverance and 
pioneering spirit of women like Margaret Chung, the first Chinese 
American woman physician, who supported herself through medical school 
by washing dishes and lecturing on China. It is about Alice Paul's fight 
for the vote and Elizabeth Wanamaker Peratrovich's campaign to end 
discrimination against Alaska Natives. It is about the writings of Zora 
Neale Hurston, the paintings of Georgia O'Keeffe, the leadership of 
labor organizer Dolores Huerta, and the trailblazing artistry of 
photographer Margaret Bourke-White. It is also about the millions of 
unsung women whose contributions have made life better for their 
families and their communities.
    Inspired by the courageous pioneers who came before them, women 
today continue to shape our Nation's destiny. Last year, Air Force 
Lieutenant Colonel Eileen Collins became the first woman commander of a 
space shuttle mission. American violinists Sarah Chang, Pamela Frank, 
and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg were the first women to take home the 
prestigious Avery Fisher Prize in its 25-year history. And, in a game 
attended by the largest crowd of all time for a women's sporting event, 
the U.S. women's soccer team captured the World Cup. Today, 58 women 
hold seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, and 9 women are United 
States Senators. More women hold high-level positions in my 
Administration than in any other in history. And in the private sector, 
women own nearly 9 million small businesses, employing millions of 
Americans and contributing significantly to the strength of our economy.
    As we honor the past and celebrate the present, we must also focus 
on the future. Our choices today will have an enormous impact on the 
destiny of our daughters and granddaughters, our sons and grandsons. We 
must rededicate ourselves to forging a society in which gender no longer 
predetermines a person's opportunities or station in life. We must 
shatter the glass ceiling; eradicate wage discrimination; and ensure 
that every American has the tools to meet both family and work 
responsibilities and to retire in security. By breaking down the 
remaining barriers and opening wide the doors of opportunity, we can 
make the future brighter for women and for all Americans.
    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, do hereby proclaim March 
2000 as Women's History Month. I encourage all Americans to observe this 
month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities, and to 
remember throughout the year the many contributions of courageous women 
who have made our Nation strong.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth 
day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
fourth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., March 1, 
2000]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on March 
2.