Mr. Secretary, ladies and gentlemen:
I want to express my thanks
to all of you for an important assignment. We have established this Commission
for two reasons. One is for my own self-protection: every 2 or 3 weeks
Mrs. May Craig asks me what I am doing for women!
The other reason is because
this is a matter of great national importance - and of international importance.
One-third of our working force are women. They have a primary obligation
to their families and to their homes, but they also - their work makes
it possible to maintain that home and that family in many cases. We want
to make sure that they are able to move ahead and perform their functions
without any discrimination by law or by implication. And we want that in
the Government, and stimulus through Mrs. Peterson and the Secretary and
the Civil Service Commission - we have attempted to make it possible for
every woman to receive compensation and receive a response from her work
completely in accord with the work which she does. We want that to be true
legally. We think that this Commission could usefully examine laws across
the country which may adversely affect the rights of women. We want to
examine this question of their compensation and whether they are receiving
compensation in accordance with the service they render, whether they are
being protected in their promotion rights, and all the rest. The Commission
should examine the things that are right and things that are wrong. So
they are very interdependent.
Mrs. Roosevelt has once again
offered to serve the country in this important job, and I am glad that
all of you here who are leaders in this country have been willing to give
your time to it. I can't imagine any more important assignment - not merely
for women, but for members of Congress, organized labor, women's organizations
themselves, religious groups, and all the rest. I think that this is a
job that we ought to do. So we look forward very eagerly to your results
and I promise you that we are strongly behind you in all your work.