113 STAT. 2134 PROCLAMATION 7216—AUG. 25, 1999 This year we also mark the 35th anniversary of einother hard-fought victory for women's equality: the enactment of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which—among other things—prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of gender. Title VII guarantees women equal access to jobs, promotions, pay, and benefits, empowering them to provide for themselves and their families and to achieve their highest aspirations. This historic legislation benefits our entire Nation by strengthening America's workforce and economy through the contributions of millions of Americans whose talents in the past had too often been ignored or excluded. We also celebrate Women's Equality Day by imagining the future—a future where women will receive equal pay for equal work, where our social structures will help women and men to balance better the responsibilities of job and family, where there will be no ceilings to prevent women from rising as far and as fast as their talents will take them. Such a future seems possible when we reflect on the extraordinary feats women have achieved this summer alone. The entire world was captivated by the energy, skill, teamwork, and determination of the women soccer players from around the globe who competed in the Women's World Cup; and all America rejoiced when the U.S. team won a breathtaking victory. Just 13 days later. Air Force Colonel Eileen Collins, commander of Space Shuttle Mission STS-93, became the first woman to command a mission in space. With a rich past, an exciting present, and a futm:e of limitless possibilities, women have much to celebrate on this Women's Equality Day, and all Americans have much to be grateful for as we reflect on the countless contributions women make to the quality of our lives and the well-being of our Nation. 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 August 26, 1999, as Women's Equality Day. I call upon the citizens of our great Nation to observe this day with appropriate programs and activities. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty- fourth day of August, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-fourth. WILLIAM J. CLINTON Proclamation 7216 of August 25, 1999 Minority Enterprise Development Week, 1999 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Throughout our history, America's minority entrepreneurs have contributed to the strength of our economy and the quality of our national life. In the 18th and 19th centuries, as farmers and fur traders, shipwrights and sea captains, barbers and bankers, they forged better lives for themselves, their families, and their neighbors. Often facing prejudice and discrimination, they nonetheless succeeded in creating
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