Lilly Ledbetter, known for her fight against wage discrimination at the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Plant, passed away at the age of 86. Ledbetter started at the plant in 1979 at the same pay scale as male coworkers and later discovered she was making significantly less. She filed a complaint and then sued Goodyear under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act of 1963, leading to a jury awarding her more than $3.5 million in damages. However, the ruling was later overturned by higher courts. Ledbetter’s case inspired the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which extended the statute of limitations for equal-pay lawsuits.
President Barack Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law, making it his first bill as president. Ledbetter’s advocacy for wage equality continued throughout her life, and she released a memoir in 2012 detailing her fight for fairness. She was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame and received a lifetime achievement award for her advocacy. A film based on her case, titled “Lilly,” premiered recently. Ledbetter’s story serves as a reminder of the ongoing fight for equal pay and the importance of advocating for fairness in the workplace.
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