威尼斯人娱乐场

During the weekly Presidential Radio Address, on November 17, 2001 from Crawford, TX, two months after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, Laura W. Bush made history while advocating for a world-wide effort to focus on the brutal treatment of Afghan women and children by the Taliban regime. Other First Ladies, such as Nancy Reagan, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Barbara Bush had participated in Presidential radio addresses previously, but she was the first First Lady to deliver the address in its entirety. In the address, she stated that Afghan girls were not allowed to go to school and women and children were denied access to doctors. She emphasized that oppression was not due to Islamic religious beliefs, but because of terrorists鈥� beliefs. For more than a decade she has served as Honorary Chair for the U.S.-Afghan Women鈥檚 Council. As First Lady, she made 3 trips to Afghanistan and continues leading efforts to protect the hard-earned rights of women there, raising awareness about the importance of dignity and opportunity, education, healthcare, and human freedom.

-from the George W. Bush Presidential Library

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Speech Script, Laura Bush's Radio Address, November 17, 2001

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Laura Bush stands with a group of Afghan girls on hand to greet her upon arrival in Kabul, March 29, 2005.

 

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Fact Sheet, 10 Steps to Improve the Lives of Iraqi Women, August 8, 2003. See pages 21-22

 

Women鈥檚 Rights and the Civil Rights Act of 1964

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The Equal Pay Act of 1963 promoted economic equality for women in the workplace.

The leaders of women鈥檚, civil rights, labor, business, and religious organizations who were present at the signing acted as the organizing forces behind the Equal Pay Act. Women in attendance included: Assistant Secretary of Labor for Labor Standards, Esther Peterson; President of the National Council of Negro Women, Dorothy Height; Senator Maurine Neuberger (D-OR); Representative Edith Green (D-OR); Director of the United Automobile Workers Women鈥檚 Department, Caroline Davis; President of the National Federation of Business and Professional Women鈥檚 Clubs, Dr. Minnie Miles; Executive Director of the National Council of Catholic Women, Margaret Mealey; and President of the National Council of Jewish Women, Pearl Larner Willen.

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The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 1975 as (IWY) and established its three purposes: to promote equality between women and men; to ensure the full integration of women into economic, cultural, and social development at national and international levels; and to recognize the importance of women鈥檚 contributions to the development of friendly international relations and world peace. 

On January 9, 1975, President Ford signed an , stating that the Commission鈥檚 activities would 鈥渞einforce our continuing national commitment to women鈥檚 rights.鈥� The 35 members of the Commission were tasked with promoting the national observance of IWY and studying the 鈥渂arriers to the full participation of women in our Nation鈥檚 life.鈥� Betty Ford, a vocal advocate of women鈥檚 rights, actively lobbied her husband on women鈥檚 issues and stood beside him at the signing ceremony. 

The U.S. sent a delegation to the first UN World Conference for International Women鈥檚 Year held in Mexico City. A few members of the delegation 鈥� Patricia Hutar, Jewel LaFontant, Jill Ruckelshuas, Patricia Lindh, and Karen Keesling 鈥� briefed President and Mrs. Ford on July 14, 1975, following the gathering. They discussed how the U.S. could implement items from the World Plan of Action on women鈥檚 issues that had been developed during the conference.

Numerous events were held around the country to mark International Women鈥檚 Year.  Ohio鈥檚 Greater Cleveland Congress of IWY, one of the largest observances, included three days of exhibits, workshops, seminars, and other events examining the role of women in society. . She spoke about her own support for the Equal Rights Amendment, as well as the importance for all people to work towards equal rights for women. 鈥淭he long road to equality rests on achievements of women and men in altering how women are treated in every area of everyday life,鈥� Mrs. Ford said. 鈥淭he search for human freedom can never be complete without freedom for women.鈥�

After a year of work, the National Commission on the Observance of International Women鈥檚 Year submitted its recommendations in a report to President Ford in July 1976.  The report, 鈥溾��...To Form a More Perfect Union鈥︹��: Justice for American Women,鈥� presented 115 recommendations to help provide equal status and opportunities for women. The Commission鈥檚 work continued as it shifted its focus to planning and convening conferences at the state level as well as a National Women鈥檚 Conference, which was held in November 1977.

-from the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum

Additional Resources

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International Women鈥檚 Year pin featuring the official IWY logo sent to First Lady Betty Ford by Ruth Bacon, Director of the United States Center for International Women鈥檚 Year, in September 1974.

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First Lady Betty Ford Congratulating President Gerald Ford for Signing an Executive Order Establishing a National Commission for the Observance of International Women's Year 1975, 1/9/1975.

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President Gerald R. Ford and First Lady Betty Ford Meeting with Members of the United States Delegation to the United Nations World Conference for International Women鈥檚 Year in the Oval Office, 7/14/1975.

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First Lady Betty Ford Making Remarks at the Greater Cleveland Congress of International Women鈥檚 Year (IWY) in Cleveland, Ohio, 10/25/1975.

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President Kennedy's Commission on the Status of Women was chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt.

From its establishment on December 14, 1961, the President鈥檚 Commission on the Status of Women examined discrimination against women in the United States and proposed ways to eliminate it. Chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, this bipartisan commission worked with the Civil Service Commission as well as the Departments of Labor, Agriculture, Commerce, and Health, Education, and Welfare, to gather its findings and submit a final report to President Kennedy.

from the

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In April 1970, the President's Task Force on Women's Rights and Responsibilities issued their seminal report "A Matter of Simple Justice."   

In response, President Nixon issued a directive to his administration officials to increase the number of women in federal service.  

To that end Barbara Franklin was brought on board in 1971 as President Nixon's Staff Assistant to the President for Executive Manpower to recruit women to high-level positions. In addition, in 1973, Franklin became one of the first of five original commissioners of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), a post she held for seven years.

Among the women recruited to top-level positions during the Nixon administration:

• Virginia Knauer - became the highest-ranking woman in the government when President Nixon appointed her Special Assistant to the President for Consumer Affairs
• Margita White - Assistant Director for Public Information at the U.S. Information Agency
• Jayne Spain - vice-chair of the President's Civil Service Commission
• Elizabeth Duncan Koontz - first African-American director of the Women's Bureau in the Department of Labor
• Patricia Reilly Hitt - Assistant Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare
• Anne Armstrong - first woman Counsel to the President
• Dr. Marina von Neumann Whitman - first woman member of the President's Council of Economic Advisers
• Romana Acosta Ba帽uelos - first Latino Treasurer of the United States and co-founder of  co-founded the Pan American National Bank in Los Angeles
• Rita Hauser -  United States Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights
• Sallyanne Payton -  Domestic Council Staff Assistant the President
• Vicki Keller, Staff Assistant to the President

In addition, on August 8, 1969, President Nixon issues prohibiting discrimination and mandating equal opportunity in federal service.

Furthermore, President Nixon signed the Education Amendments of 1972 (Public Law No. 92鈥�318, 86 Stat. 235) that include Title IX, which prohibits discrimination in any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance on the basis of sex.

-from the Nixon Presidential Library and Museum

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"A Matter of Simple Justice" come from White House Central Files: Staff Member and Office Files: Anne Armstrong; box 68.

 

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2/4/1969: Group portrait of President Nixon and Department of Labor leaders including George Shultz, James Hodgson, Arnold Weber, William Usery, Jr., Geoffery Moore, George L. P. Weaver, Elizabeth Duncan Koontz (first African-American director of the Women鈥檚 Bureau in the Department of Labor), Leo Wertz and David Taylor.

 

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4/10/1969: Portrait of Virginia Knauer who became the highest-ranking woman in the government when President Nixon appointed her Special Assistant to the President for Consumer Affairs.

 

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11/11/1969: President Nixon, George Shultz (Secretary of Labor), Spiro Agnew, Ron Ziegler, J. Phil Campbell (Under Secretary of Agruculture), Carl W. Clewlow (Defense Dept), Miss Mary Eastwood (Justice Department), David Peacock (Deputy Under-Secretary of Commerce), Fred D. Pollard, Jr. (State Dept ), Advisory Council members: Mrs. Elizabeth Duncan Koontz (Director, Women's Bureau Executive Vice Chairman), Mrs. Elizabeth Kuck (Commissioner Equal Employment Opportunity Commission), Mrs. Carol M. Khosrovi (Office of Economic Opportunity), Mrs. David Peacock (Deputy Under-Secretary of Commerce), Hon. James E. Johnson (Commissioner U. S. Civil Service Commission), Miss Virginia R. Allan, Miss Nola A. Allen, Dr. Margaret Long Arnold, Mrs. Lorraine L. Blair, Dr. Rita Ricardo Campbell, Mrs. Julie Casterman Connor, Miss Sarah Jane Cunningham, Mrs. Mary Charles Griffin, Miss Maxine R. Hacke, Mrs. Marie Hamel, Mrs. Mary J. Kyle, Miss Margaret J. Mealey, Miss Hazel Palmer, Mrs. Sara H. Revercomb, Mrs. Patricia Saiki, Miss Rachel E. Scott, Mrs. Yetta Wasserman, Mrs. Irene Wischer, Mrs. Catherine East (Executive Secretary Citizens Advisory Council on the Status of Women), Mrs. Bertha Whittaker (Administrative Assistant to Mrs. Catherine East), Mrs. Isabel A. Burgess (Member National Transportation Safety Board), unidentified butlers

 

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2/19/1970: Portrait of Margita White, appointed Assistant Deputy Director of Communications in the White House, then made Assistant Director for Public Information at the U.S. Information Agency.

 

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4/29/1971: President Nixon shaking the hand of Barbara Franklin, Staff Assistant to the President for Executive Manpower tasked with recruiting women to high-level positions in the federal government. (Her title was later shortened to Staff Assistant to the President.) (Also shown in image: Fred Malek)

 

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8/13/1971: President Nixon with Jayne Spain, vice-chair of the President鈥檚 Civil Service Commission, and Patricia Reilly Hitt, Assistant Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare.

 

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9/20/1971: President Nixon and Romana Acosta Ba帽uelos, first Latina Treasurer of the United States and co-founder of the Pan American National Bank in Los Angeles.

 

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4/29/1971: President Nixon with women appointees including Jayne Baker Spain, vice-chair of the President's Civil Service Commission, Vicki Keller, Staff Assistant to the President, Sallyanne Payton, Domestic Council Staff Assistant to the President, Dr. Valerija Raulinaitis, first female VA hospital director, and Barbara Franklin, Staff Assistant to the President for Executive Manpower.

 

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1/29/1972; President Nixon seated informally in the Oval Office during a meeting with Barbara Franklin, Dr. Herbert Stein, member of the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), George Shultz, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Dr. Marina von Neumann Whitman, first woman member of the Council of Economic Advisers.

 

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4/29/1972; Nixon administration staff and high-level appointees Ethel Bent Walsh, Brigadier General Jeanne M. Holm (the first U.S.A.F. brigadier general, later major general 鈥� first female one star general in the Air Force and the first female two star general in any branch of the US military), Rose Mary Woods, Virginia Knauer, Helen Delich Bentley, Jayne Baker Spain, Evelyn Eppley, Barbara H. Franklin; (second row): Sallyanne Payton, Elizabeth Hanford, Georgiana Sheldon, Virginia Allan, Carol Khosrovi, Paula Tennant, Brereton Sturtevant, Gloria Toote. PDF file of the President鈥�;s Task Force on Women's Rights and Responsibilities seminal report 鈥淎 Matter of Simple Justice.鈥�

 

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11/14/1973: Portrait of Anne Armstrong, first woman Counsel to the President.

 

Proclamation for Women鈥檚 Equality Day on the 75th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment

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of President William Jefferson Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton Speaking at the 75th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage Event; Date: August 26, 1995.

On August 26th, 1995, President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton commemorated the 75th anniversary of the 19th Amendment at an event in Jackson, Wyoming. Mrs. Clinton spoke first. She noted that Jackson, Wyoming was the perfect place to be on the 75th anniversary given that the state was the first in the union to allow women to vote. Mrs. Clinton remarked that the celebration provided an opportunity to 鈥渕easure our progress and to reflect on the challenges that remain before us.鈥� She then spoke about the upcoming 鈥淯nited Nations Fourth World Conference on Women鈥� to be held in Beijing, China. Mrs. Clinton described the event as being 鈥渁bout giving a voice to women, whoever they are and wherever they are, so that they can be heard.鈥� Following her remarks, she introduced President Clinton. His speech reiterated many of her points and announced that he planned 鈥渢o establish an interagency council on women鈥� following the conference. The President stated that he 鈥渄eclared this Women鈥檚 Equality Day because there is so much to celebrate and so much still to do.鈥�

-from the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum

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Remarks by President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton on the 75th Anniversary of the Ratification of the 19th Amendment and Women鈥檚 Right to Vote.

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Draft 1 of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton鈥檚 speech on the 75th Anniversary of the Ratification of the 19th Amendment and Women鈥檚 Right to Vote. 8/1995.

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Ceremonial Proclamation for Women鈥檚 Equality Day 1995, 8/26/1995.

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Hillary Rodham Clinton Addresses an Event for the 75th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage at the Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton, Wyoming; Photographer: Robert McNeely; Date: August 26, 1995

Hillary Rodham Clinton Remarks at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women 

On September 5, 1995, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered remarks at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China. She attended the conference as part of the delegation from the United States led by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Clinton gave an impassioned speech in which she declared that 鈥渋f there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women鈥檚 rights . . . and women鈥檚 rights are human rights, once and for all.鈥�

 -from the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum

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Press Release of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton鈥檚 remarks at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, China, September 5, 1995

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Draft 2 of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton鈥檚 remarks for the World Health Organization Forum on Women and Health Security Beijing, China, September 5, 1995

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Hillary Rodham Clinton Delivers the Keynote Address at the Fourth United Nations Conference on Women at the Beijing International Conference Center in Beijing, China on September 5, 1995. Photo by: Sharon Farmer.

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Hillary Rodham Clinton Addresses the Fourth United Nations Conference on Women at the Beijing International Conference Center in Beijing, China on September 5, 1995. Photo by Sharon Farmer.