Presidential Document2024-05587
National Equal Pay Day, 2024
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
March 14, 2024
Signed
March 11, 2024
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 51 (Thursday, March 14, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 51 (Thursday, March 14, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 18529-18530]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-05587]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 89 , No. 51 / Thursday, March 14, 2024 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 18529]]
Proclamation 10710 of March 11, 2024
National Equal Pay Day, 2024
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
On National Equal Pay Day, we highlight the injustice
of gender wage gaps by marking how far into this year
women have to work, on average, to earn what men made
last year. Over a lifetime, these inequities can amount
to millions of dollars lost for women who do not
receive the wages they deserve. Equal pay is about far
more than a paycheck. It is about living up to the
fundamental values that define who we are as a Nation--
equality, dignity, and fairness. Today and every day,
we continue working toward the promise of equal pay,
recognizing that when women thrive, we all thrive.
Women's labor force participation is the highest it has
been in decades, and the gender pay gap is the
narrowest it has ever been on record. Yet, despite this
progress, the fight for equal pay continues. Women
working full-time and year-round are paid an average of
84 cents for every dollar paid to men. In more than 90
percent of occupations, women earn less than men--and
these disparities are even greater for women of color
and women with disabilities. The pay gap is a product
of the systemic barriers that women have long faced
when it comes to accessing good-paying jobs and
opportunities. Further, caregiving responsibilities for
children, loved ones with disabilities, and aging
family members disproportionately fall on women, which
can mean missing work, cutting hours, and leaving jobs.
America cannot have the strongest economy in the world
while leaving women--half our workforce--behind. When I
came into office, women's labor participation rate had
fallen to its lowest level in more than three decades,
in part because the COVID-19 pandemic had forced women
out of the workforce to juggle caregiving
responsibilities. In response, my Administration's
American Rescue Plan invested billions of dollars to
support working families, powering the strongest job
creation in history. The law also helped keep the doors
open to 220,000 child care centers, 90 percent of which
were owned and staffed by women.
Since I took office, nearly 15 million jobs have been
created, and we are working relentlessly to ensure
these jobs are accessible to women. Across the major
laws I have signed--such as the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law, which is rebuilding our Nation; the
CHIPS and Science Act, which is restoring our
technological edge; and the Inflation Reduction Act,
which is paving the way for a clean energy future--we
are making sure women have a fair shot at securing the
good-paying jobs being created. For the first time,
firms receiving significant Federal dollars will be
required to ensure they have high-quality child care
available to their workers. I have signed a sweeping
Executive Order that includes more than 50 directives
to expand access to affordable, high-quality care and
provide support for care workers and family caregivers.
Additionally, I signed legislation that provides new
protections for pregnant and nursing workers. This past
year, the Small Business Administration delivered $5.1
billion in loans to women-owned businesses.
To advance pay equity, my Administration has committed
to leading by example and making the Federal Government
a model employer. That is
[[Page 18530]]
why we have taken action to close persistent wage gaps.
We finalized a rule ensuring that Federal agencies no
longer consider an applicant's current or past pay when
determining their future salaries--eliminating pay
inequities that can otherwise follow workers from job
to job. My Administration has proposed regulations to
advance pay equity and pay transparency for workers on
Federal contracts.
We are making tremendous progress, but there is still
much more we must do. My Administration continues to
call on the Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness
Act--commonsense legislation that would increase pay
transparency and give workers more tools to fight sex-
based pay discrimination.
On National Equal Pay Day, let us redouble our efforts
to ensure that women get the pay they have earned and
deserve. Let us recommit to giving our daughters the
same opportunities as our sons. Let us remember our
responsibility to live up to our Nation's fundamental
values of equality, dignity, and fairness for all
Americans.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., 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 March 12,
2024, 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 inequality, and join
efforts to achieve equal pay.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
eleventh day of March, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
eighth.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2024-05587
Filed 3-13-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P
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