Lilly Ledbetter experienced pay discrimination and fought back. She did the right thing even if that meant suffering the consequences; she’s fearless, empowering, and above all inspiring!
Lilly McDaniel was born in April 1938. She would later marry Charles Ledbetter, a United States Army veteran. They had two kids, Vicky and Phillip Charles.
Lilly’s story starts in 1998, when she had been working as an overnight manager for a Goodyear Tire & Rubber plant for 19 years. One night, while checking her mailbox she found an anonymous note, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. The note held information about the salaries of three of her male co-workers who were hired at the same time she was. What shocked Lilly was that the note showed that her male coworkers were being paid 15 to 40 percent more than she was. According to Time, Lilly was making $3,727 a month, while her male coworkers were making $4,286 to $5,236 a month.
Outraged, Lilly has since made it her mission to fight pay inequality. After finding this note, Lilly contacted the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and explained that she was being discriminated against. Shortly after, Lilly was reassigned to lift heavy tires; Lilly felt it was a punishment for speaking out about her own pay discrimination. She soon retired, and sued Goodyear. According to Time, Goodyear said that Lilly wasn’t as good of a worker as her male coworkers. After a long legal battle, Lilly did win her case!
Unfortunately that wasn’t the end of Goodyear. After Lilly won, Goodyear took the case all the way to the Supreme Court. There she did lose. After another long court battle, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4. The Supreme Court decided that she filed her pay discrimination claim too late. According to the Civil Rights Act, anyone who experiences pay discrimination must file a claim within 180 days of the first time their employer discriminates against them. Regrettably Lilly didn’t know that she was facing pay discrimination until 7,300 days after her employers first discriminated against her, according to Forbes.
Putting her court battles behind her, Lilly has stepped up and done everything in her power to prevent other women from experiencing the same discrimination she did. According to Time, Lilly has even helped President Obama campaign for his first term. During Obama’s campaign he made the promise to fight pay inequality. Since then the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act has passed. This act was honorably named after Lilly Ledbetter, because of her hard work and determination to put an end to pay inequality. The act now makes it possible to file a discrimination claim, whenever the victim finds out they’ve experienced it. While this doesn’t help Lilly it does help many other people who find themselves in the same situation she once did.
Lilly is currently still fighting for pay equality, by speaking about it and promoting it. She is now 74 years old and still kicking.
Why do we love Lilly Ledbetter?
Lilly found out she was discriminated against, and instead ignoring it and letting it go, she stood up to her employer and fought for what was right. She handled her legal battles with grace and dignity. Since then, she has helped pass a law to make it easier for anyone who experiences pay discrimination to file a claim. In addition, Lilly has also spoke at the Democratic National Convention in 2008 and 2012. She’s written a book with the help of Lanier Scott Isom, called Grace and Grit: My Fight for Equal Pay and Fairness at Goodyear and Beyond. Lilly has been featured in Time, Forbes, The New York Times, and The Huffington Post. In addition, the Mayor of Chicago declared October 14th 2010 to be Lilly Ledbetter day. The reason why we love her the most is that even when she was the victim of a horrible crime, she still turned it around, and used her own story to help all who are victims of pay discrimination. Lilly is an inspiration and a beacon of hope for all who wish to see pay equality. We honor, love and look up to Lilly Ledbetter.
If you have experienced pay discrimination, please check out these websites for more help:
http://lillyledbetterfairpayact.org/
Sources:
Time, http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1874954,00.html
Forbes, http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/28/equal-pay-discrimination-forbes-woman-leadership-wages.html
About.com, http://womeninbusiness.about.com/od/successfulwomenprofiles/p/lilly-ledbetter.htm
Bloomberg Businessweek, http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-06-21/equal-pay-plaintiffs-burden-of-proof#p1
Lilly Ledbetter’s website, http://www.lillyledbetter.com/index.html