This past weekend, the world lost a legendary advocate for women’s equality. Pay equity activist Lilly Ledbetter died at 86 years old in her home state of Alabama on Saturday, according to the Washington Post.
Ledbetter became a driving force for fair pay after taking her longtime employer to court—an act that ignited Ledbetter’s journey from career woman to equal pay activist to icon and Women’s Hall of Famer. Ledbetter began working as the only woman supervisor at an Alabama Goodyear tire plant in 1979—a mere 5 years after women were guaranteed the right to open their own bank account in America and two years before the Supreme Court would see its first woman justice. Ledbetter worked at that plant for 19 years and was still the lone woman in her position when she retired nearly two decades later.
During that time, Ledbetter faced repeated sexism and discrimination at the plant—which she previously described to Forbes as a “good ol’ boy plant”—including sexual harassment from one of her managers. In an op-ed for the New York Times, Ledbetter wrote that early in her career, her manager demanded sexual favors and threatened to fire her if she didn’t comply. Fearing for her safety and her job, she reported the harassment to HR, and while her harasser never faced consequences, Ledbetter ultimately did.
It wasn’t until nearly two decades later—when Ledbetter approached her retirement in 1998—that she received an anonymous letter that forever altered her future and the broader fight for equal pay. The letter revealed to Ledbetter that she was being paid significantly less than all 15 of her male colleagues, including those with less seniority, adding up over the years to over $200,000 in lost wages.
Like many women activists who came before and after Ledbetter, she didn’t intend or even want to become an icon for women’s equality. As former President Barack Obama wrote in a statement following Ledbetter’s passing, “Lilly Ledbetter never set out to be a trailblazer or a household name. She just wanted to be paid the same as a man for her hard work.” Finding out she was being paid less than her male coworkers was the final straw for Ledbetter. Immediately following the revelation, she filed charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and then went on to sue Goodyear, arguing that the pay disparity she faced was a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
While she didn’t set out to be an activist (she previously told NPR that she never wanted to be a “troublemaker”), Ledbetter rose to the challenge, never stopped fighting, and ultimately came to embrace her role. In her 2012 speech at the Democratic National Convention, Ledbetter proclaimed, “This fight became bigger than Lilly Ledbetter. Today, it’s about my daughter. It’s about my granddaughter… It’s about equality and justice.” Ledbetter’s suit against Goodyear didn’t have a quick or easy end. The legal battle spanned years and was sent up to the Supreme Court. In the 2007 case Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., the Supreme Court ruled that Ledbetter reported her pay discrimination too late and that she should’ve reported the issue within 180 days of receiving her first paycheck that reflected the pay disparity.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg wrote in her vigorous dissent that the Court’s decision overlooks the realities of pay discrimination, stating, “Pay disparities often occur, as they did in Ledbetter’s case, in small increments; cause to suspect that discrimination is at work develops only over time.” In Ledbetter’s case, salaries were confidential, making it practically impossible for her to know about her pay disparity within 180 days. Ginsberg also acutely pointed out the insidiousness of pay discrimination, which often begin small enough for employees to accept, “particularly when the employee, trying to succeed in a nontraditional environment, is averse to making waves.”
While Ledbetter might not have won the legal battle against Goodyear, she won the war. Following the lawsuit, Ledbetter’s continued activism culminated in historic gains for pay equity in the U.S. In 2009, President Obama signed his first piece of legislation, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, into law. The Act eliminates the statute of limitations on fair pay claims and makes it easier for workers to challenge unequal pay, ensuring that women who are discriminated against can get their day in court.
Even then, Ledbetter continued carrying the torch. From her induction into the National Women’s Hall of Fame to her speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention to her memoir Grace and Grit, Ledbetter dedicated the rest of her life to fighting for women’s equality. Just a few years ago, speaking at a 2021 Forbes Women’s Summit, Ledbetter told the room, “You and I have to continue fighting for equal pay for equal work. I get up each day with that on my mind.” Ledbetter continued to fight for more comprehensive equal pay legislation, including throwing her support behind the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963 through pay transparency and protections against retaliation. Following Ledbetter’s passing, Vice President Kamala Harris issued a statement that she will continue to fight for the Paycheck Fairness Act, which she is a co-sponsor of, “to honor Lilly’s legacy, and continue building a more fair and equitable future for women, and all Americans.”
Ledbetter paved the way for the next era of women working to create equitable and safe work spaces for all women. In the years since Ledbetter first took on her employer, countless other women have picked up the torch, joining the fight that she began over a quarter of a century ago, speaking out against discrimination, and working for legislation—like the Speak Out Act signed into law by President Joe Biden—that will shape a more equitable and just future.
While the future Ledbetter fought for may still be on uncertain ground—recent research from the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) projected that the gender pay gap may never close—the fight must and will continue. So many women, this writer included, have Ledbetter to thank for igniting this fight so that we can one day make that future a reality. In her own words, “This fight, which began as my own, is now our fight.”