Decades after Lilly Ledbetter’s fight for equal pay, disparities still exist

Lilly Ledbetter, an unintentional icon in the fight for equal pay, passed away on October 12, 2024, at the age of 86. Ledbetter filed a lawsuit in 1999 that sparked an equal pay movement throughout the United States. More than 25 years later, pay disparities still exist in every state. Over the years, Massachusetts has implemented a number of legislative measures to achieve pay parity. Have they been effective?

Lilly Ledbetter’s lawsuit

In 1999, Ledbetter, who had been working for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. for almost 20 years and was a manager at the time, received an anonymous letter informing her that she was earning less than her male counterparts for doing the same job at the factory where she worked in Alabama. As a result of the letter, she filed a lawsuit alleging, among other things, discrimination based on her sex in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Although Ledbetter initially won her case, resulting in a verdict in her favor awarding $3.8 million in back pay and other damages, her case was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2007. In its decision, the Court determined she hadn’t filed her claim within the statute of limitations because she hadn’t filed within six months of receiving her first discriminatory paycheck.