Lilly Ledbetter

Lilly Ledbetter served as a manager at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. plant in Gadsden, Alabama, for nineteen plus years, where she received the top performance award and was one of four area managers, and the only woman, selected to initiate the light truck production at the Gadsden Plant. After learning  that over the course of her career she had been paid significantly less than her male colleagues, Ms. Ledbetter filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission. In 2007, Ms. Ledbetter’s legal battle came to an end with the Supreme Court’s ruling in Ledbetter v.  Goodyear, which overturned her original jury award on a statute of limitations basis.

Although she saw no monetary awards for her fight against pay discrimination, her story led to the introduction of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007, which  passed the House and Senate in January 2009. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was the first bill signed by President Obama. Ms. Ledbetter testified before Congress in support of the legislation and continues to be an advocate for pay equity.

Prior to her tenure at Goodyear, Ms. Ledbetter worked as  a District Manager for H & R Block, Inc. and as an assistant Financiel Aid Director at Jacksonville State University. She was the first female president of the Anniston Area Management Association, she is a past Director of District Two of the Alabama Federation of Women’s Clubs, served a six year term on the Alabama Board for License of Private Schools, is active in her church and community, and is a national winner of ballroom dancing.