Remarks to the Members of the President's Commission on the Status of Women.

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.