Women's Equality Day, 2014

Vol. 79

Friday,

No. 168

August 29, 2014

Part V

The President

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Proclamation 9153--Women's Equality Day, 2014

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 9153 of August 25, 2014

Women's Equality Day, 2014

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

On August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment was certified,
securing for women the fundamental right to vote. The
product of decades spent organizing, protesting, and
agitating, it was a turning point on the long march
toward equality for all, and it inspired generations of
courageous women who took up this unfinished struggle
in their own time. On the anniversary of this civil
rights milestone, we honor the character and
perseverance of America's women and all those who work
to make the same rights and opportunities possible for
our daughters and sons.

When women are given the opportunity to succeed, they
do. Younger women graduate college at higher rates than
men and are more likely to hold a graduate school
degree. They are nearly half our workforce, and
increasingly they are the primary breadwinner for
families. But too often, the women and girls who lift
up our Nation achieve extraordinary success only after
overcoming the legacy of unequal treatment.

My Administration is committed to tearing down the
barriers--wherever they exist--that deny women equal
opportunity. We prohibited gender discrimination in our
health care system, made it easier for women to
challenge unfair pay, and invested in programs that
help women enter high-paying careers. We fought to
improve student grants and loans to ensure a college
education is within the reach of every woman, and we
established the White House Task Force to Protect
Students from Sexual Assault because no matter where
women pursue a brighter future, they have the right to
do so without fear.

From classrooms to boardrooms, in cities and towns
across America, and in the ranks of our Armed Forces,
women are succeeding like never before. Their
contributions are growing our economy and advancing our
Nation. But despite these gains, the dreams of too many
mothers and daughters continue to be deferred and
denied. There is still more work to do and more doors
of opportunity to open. When women receive unequal pay
or are denied family leave and workplace flexibility,
it makes life harder for our mothers and daughters, and
it hurts the loved ones they support. These outdated
policies and old ways of thinking deprive us of our
Nation's full talents and potential. That is why this
June we held the first-ever White House Summit on
Working Families to develop a comprehensive agenda that
ensures hard working Americans do not have to choose
between being productive employees and responsible
family members. We know that when women and girls are
free to pursue their own measure of happiness in all
aspects of their lives, they strengthen our families,
enrich our communities, and better our country. We know
that when women succeed, America succeeds.

In the 21st century, a mother should be able to raise
her daughter and be her role model--showing her that
with hard work, there are no limits to what she can
accomplish. On Women's Equality Day, we continue the
righteous work of building a society where women
thrive, where every door is open to them, and their
every dream can be realized.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim August 26, 2014, as
Women's Equality Day. I call upon the people of the
United States to celebrate the achievements of women
and promote gender equality in our country.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-fifth day of August, in the year of our Lord two
thousand fourteen, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
ninth.