WASHINGTON – One year after the enactment of legislation bearing her name, pay equity activist Lilly Ledbetter is returning to Washington to call on the Senate to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act.
While the adoption of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act on January 29, 2009, the first bill signed into law by President Barack Obama, was an important milestone on the road to fair pay, the Senate has failed to take the next critical step by acting on the Paycheck Fairness Act. Today, however, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) announced that the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions would hold hearings on the bill in the next four to six weeks.
The Paycheck Fairness Act would help create a climate in which wage discrimination is not tolerated. In these tough economic times, with an unprecedented number of women becoming breadwinners and heads of households, pay equity is needed not only for a family's economic security, but also for the nation's economy recovery. Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau showed that women continue to earn, on average, just 77 cents for each dollar earned by their male counterparts.
Background
Lilly Ledbetter became widely known as the "face of pay equity" when the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in her pay discrimination case against Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. drew outrage in 2007. The 5-4 ruling effectively allowed employers to discriminate as long as they weren't caught within the first six months.
Ledbetter didn't discover that she had been paid significantly less than male co-workers doing the same job until just before her retirement. Instead of providing her the more than $3 million she was due in back pay and damages, the Supreme Court's decision left her empty-handed. She will never receive a dime from her case, but Ledbetter often says that helping working women is her reward.
What:
Lilly Ledbetter, AAUW staff, members of the AAUW Action Fund Lobby Corps (volunteers who make weekly visits to congressional offices), and AAUW coalition partners including the National Women's Law Center and the ACLU will ask senators to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act.
Date/Time:
AAUW Action Fund Lobby Corps, 10 a.m., Thursday January 28, 2010
Meeting with senators Thursday from 3:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. and Friday at 11:30 a.m.
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AAUW advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. Since 1881, AAUW has been one of the nation's leading voices promoting education and equity for women and girls. AAUW has a nationwide network of nearly 100,000 members, 1,000 branches, and 500 college/university institutional partners. Since AAUW's founding more than 128 years ago, members have examined and taken positions on the fundamental issues of the day — educational, social, economic, and political. AAUW's commitment to educational equity is reflected in its public policy advocacy, community programs, leadership development, conventions and conferences, national partnerships, and international connections.
Visit the AAUW website at www.aauw.org.
