Let's Hear it for Lilly Ledbetter!

“She knew it was too late for her... but this grandmother from Alabama kept on fighting, because she was thinking about the next generation. It’s what we’ve always done in America- set our sights high for ourselves, but even higher for our children and grandchildren.” ~President Barak Obama, 1/29/09

It is a proud, proud day to be an Alabama woman, and it’s all because of Lilly. On Thursday, President Obama signed the first bill of his presidency: The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, thanks to one selfless woman’s work.

For those who don’t know, Ledbetter was a high-ranking supervisor at the Goodyear Tire plant in Gadsden, Alabama, and after she retired, she discovered that she had been paid hundreds of thousands less than her male counterparts. She sued. Lower courts took her side, citing the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Pay Act, but Goodyear fought her (Lexi will NEVER run on Goodyears again, I can tell you that much!) all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. They overturned it, (but not without my girl Bader-Ginsburg making her dissent known!) saying the time limit for Ledbetter to file her complaint had expired.

But Lilly didn’t quit-- she fought.Her case was closed, but she knew the law that sealed the deal wasn’t just... and she knew she couldn’t allow it to rob future generations of women (and other disinfranchised groups) like it had robbed her. After all... how many of you discuss your salary with your co-workers? Futher still, how many of you actually had to sign some paperwork saying you WOULDN’T discuss your salary with co-workers? (I know I was forced to.)Have you ever wondered if maybe, just maybe, the guy in the cubicle next to you is raking in an extra five grand a year? He probably is... and if you’re forbidden to talk about it, how will find out before it’s too late?

President Obama gave a beautiful, powerful speech before he signed Lilly’s Act (click here to check it out... it will do your heart good). I’m proud to finally have a president who knows that 78 cents for every dollar is NOT good enough, and strict time limitations for these lawsuits won’t cut it either. Lilly Ledbetter still gets nothing... she will get no back wages or recieve any compensation for her hard work, she endured harassment and hassles to bring her case to the public stage, but in the end, she won. We all won, and she did it for us.