National Equal Pay Day, 2000

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 7306 of May 11, 2000

National Equal Pay Day, 2000

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Long before President Kennedy signed into law the Equal
Pay Act of 1963, women had proved their ability to
contribute to America's labor market. During World War
II, when labor shortages offered women an unprecedented
opportunity to work outside the home, women excelled at
jobs traditionally reserved for men. Yet, despite their
enormous contribution to maintaining American
production lines, women in the workforce were paid less
than their male counterparts.

For most of our Nation's history, in fact, women have
served within a sharply segregated workforce, enjoying
fewer educational and training opportunities than men
and struggling all too often to disprove confining
stereotypes about their roles and capabilities. But
throughout the decades, women of courage, energy, and
determination have continued to enter the workforce and
open doors of opportunity for succeeding generations.
Today, more women are in the labor force than ever
before; the female unemployment rate is at its lowest
in more than 40 years; the poverty rate for households
headed by women is the lowest ever recorded; and the
pay gap has narrowed substantially since 1963.

Despite these gains, the battle for equal pay for women
is far from over. Although 37 years have passed since
the passage of the Equal Pay Act, the average woman
today must still work an additional 17 weeks a year to
earn what the average man earns. That pay gap grows
wider as women grow older, and it is widest for women
of color. African American women earn 64 cents for
every dollar earned by white men, and Hispanic women
earn just 55 cents. While some of these disparities can
be attributed to differences in education, experience,
and occupation--which themselves often reflect
troubling inequities--several studies confirm that a
significant pay gap persists even after we account for
these factors.

My Administration has worked hard to ensure that every
American is treated with fairness and dignity in the
workplace, and this year I proposed a $27 million equal
pay initiative in my fiscal year 2001 budget to combat
unfair pay practices against women. This initiative
includes $10 million in funding for the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to identify
more quickly and respond more effectively to wage
discrimination. The initiative would also enable the
EEOC to launch a public service campaign to educate
employees and employers about their rights and
responsibilities under equal pay laws. In addition, the
initiative includes funding for the Department of Labor
to train women for jobs they have not traditionally
held, such as those in the high-paying technology
sector, and to help employers recruit and train
qualified women for nontraditional occupations.

I have also urged the Congress to strengthen existing
wage discrimination laws by promptly passing the
Paycheck Fairness Act. This proposed legislation would
provide increased penalties for equal pay violations;
prohibit employers from punishing employees who share
salary information with coworkers; and provide funding
for research on wage discrimination and for increased
training for EEOC employees who work on wage
discrimination cases.

Throughout the decades, working women have persevered
in their struggle for equal pay, buoyed by an
unshakable faith in their own skills and self-worth and
a firm commitment to the ideals of our democracy. On
National Equal Pay Day, I urge all Americans to join
the crusade to secure equal pay for women and to create
a just and honorable work environment in which all our
citizens are rewarded fairly for their talents,
experience, and contributions.

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 May 11, 2000, 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 ensure that all their employees are
paid equitably for their work.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
eleventh day of May, in the year of our Lord two
thousand, and of the Independence of the United States
of America the two hundred and twenty-fourth.