Presidential Documents

21221 

Federal Register 

Vol. 76, No. 73 

Friday, April 15, 2011 

Title 3— 

The President 

Proclamation 8653 of April 11, 2011 

National Equal Pay Day, 2011 

By the President of the United States of America 

A Proclamation 

Generations of women have fought for the advancement of their sisters, 

daughters, and themselves in acts of great courage—reaching for and winning 

the right to vote, breaking barriers in America’s universities and boardrooms, 

and flooding the modern workforce with skilled talent. While our Nation 

has come far, obstacles continue to exist for working women, who still 

earn less on average than working men. Each year, National Equal Pay 

Day reflects how far into the current year women must work to match 

what men earned in the previous year. On National Equal Pay Day, we 

rededicate ourselves to carrying forward the fight for true economic equality 

for all, regardless of gender. 

When the Equal Pay Act was signed into law in 1963, women earned 

59 cents for every dollar earned by men. Though women today are more 

likely than men to attend and graduate from college, women still earn 

an average of only about 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. Even 

when accounting for factors such as experience, education, industry, and 

hours, this wage gap persists. Over the course of her lifetime, this gap 

will cost a woman and her family lost wages, reduced pensions, and diminished Social Security benefits. Though we have made great strides, wage 

discrimination is real and women are still more likely to live in poverty. 

These inequities remind us to work even harder to close the gaps that 

still exist. 

At a time when families across this country are struggling to make ends 

meet, National Equal Pay Day reminds us that achieving equal pay for 

equal work is not just a women’s issue—it is a family issue. In today’s 

world, women represent both powerful consumers and vital wage earners. 

Women make up nearly half of the labor force and mothers are the primary 

or co-breadwinners in two-thirds of families. When women are not paid 

fairly, the families that depend on their earnings suffer. 

That is why one of my first acts as President was to sign the Lilly Ledbetter 

Fair Pay Act, a law that empowers women who have been discriminated 

against in their salaries to have their day in court to make it right. I 

established the National Equal Pay Enforcement Task Force to identify persistent challenges to equal pay enforcement and ensure equal pay laws 

are vigorously enforced throughout our country. My Administration also 

published Women in America: Indicators of Social and Economic WellBeing, the first comprehensive Federal report on the status of American 

women in almost 50 years, which documents that although women have 

higher graduation rates than men at all academic levels, the wage gap 

still persists. We are pursuing these efforts because of the simple fact that 

when women are paid fairly, our whole Nation will benefit. 

Achieving equal pay for women is vital to strengthening the future prosperity 

of our country. For the sake of our daughters and granddaughters, we must 

renew our commitment to eliminating the barriers women face in the workforce and give both women and men the opportunity to reach greater heights. 

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21222 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 73 / Friday, April 15, 2011 / Presidential Documents 

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 April 12, 2011, 

as National Equal Pay Day. I call upon all Americans to recognize the 

full value of women’s skills and their significant contributions to the labor 

force, acknowledge the injustice of wage discrimination, and join efforts 

to achieve equal pay. 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eleventh day 

of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth. 

[FR Doc. 2011–9349 

Filed 4–14–11; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 3195–W1–P 


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