Lilly Ledbetter, whose name graces an equal pay law in the United States, died at 86.
CBS, the BBC’s news partner in the United States, described her children as saying she died peacefully on Saturday surrounded by family and friends. “Our mother lived an extraordinary life,” according to the family statement. Ms. Ledbetter’s work resulted in the first bill signed into law by Barack Obama after becoming president of the United States in 2009. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act makes it easier for employees to sue after uncovering wage discrimination. Mr. Obama said the bill conveyed “that there are no second-class citizens in our workplaces”. President Biden, who served as vice president during the Obama administration, hailed Ms. Ledbetter as a “fearless leader and advocated for equal pay.”
He offered his admiration, stating that “her fight began on the factory floor and reached the Supreme Court and Congress,” whereas she “never stopped fighting for all Americans to be paid what they deserve.” “Before she was a household name, Lilly was like so many other women in the workforce: she toiled hard, with dignity, only to find out she was being paid less than a man for identical work.”
Biden went on to say that it was “an honor to stand with Lilly as the bill that bears her name was made law,” calling the Fair Pay Restoration Act a “critical step forward in the fight to close the gender and racial wage gaps.” Ms. Ledbetter worked as a supervisor at Goodyear, a tire manufacturer in Alabama, for over 20 years before realizing she was being paid less than men doing the same job. In 2007, the Supreme Court concluded that she had no grounds to sue because her complaint was not filed within six months of the discrimination. Her law overturned the decision.
The former president paid tribute on Twitter/X, stating that Ms Ledbetter “never set out to be a trailblazer or a household name.” She simply wanted to be compensated for her efforts in the same way that men were. “Lilly did what so many Americans before her have done: setting her sights high for herself and even higher for her children and grandchildren,” Mr. Obama said. Ms. Ledbetter continued to advocate after the statute was signed. According to Alabama news website AL.com, she received Advertising Week’s Future Is Female Lifetime Achievement Award last week. Lilly, a new film about her life starring Patricia Clarkson, premiered yesterday at the Hamptons International Film Festival.
