LegNet January 2009
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is Signed Into Law
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act will be recorded in history for a number of reasons. It was the first bill signed into law by President Barack Obama, it represents a strong commitment to pay equality for women, and is proof of the legislative advocacy power of groups like GFWC clubwomen, who took a position on the issue and worked hard to make that position known.
As GFWC members know, Lilly Ledbetter is a clubwoman and former District II Director from Jacksonville, Ala., who became famous as the subject of a 2007 Supreme Court case, Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. The Supreme Court voted 5-4 in favor of Goodyear Tire, overturning years of established case law and requiring victims of pay discrimination to file a claim within six months of the original inequitable paycheck. The practical reality is that most people are not aware of pay discrimination under years or even decades after it begins.
GFWC has supported Lilly's work from very early in her fight. Alabama Federation of Women's Clubs passed a resolution in support of Lilly's work in 2007 and, in September 2008, the GFWC Board of Directors hosted a 200-memberlobby day on behalf of their fellow clubwoman. U.S. Senate staff heard from GFWC representatives from every state on the issue, re-establishing GFWC as a major force for positive change in the nation's capital. To read more about GFWC's Day on the Hill, see the December 2008 + January 2009 issue of GFWC Clubwoman Magazine.
At the beginning of the 111th Congress, GFWC joined various women's and civil rights groups to participate in this session's efforts. Our work on the bill was recognized by the Washington D.C. advocacy community, and these groups looked to our extensive membership reach in every state and community in the country as a key strength in pressuring the U.S. Congress to act.
The passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act by the 111th Congress will go down in GFWC's history as a major advocacy initiative, along the lines of the passage of the Pure Food and Drug and Violence Against Women Acts. GFWC is extraordinarily proud of Lilly Ledbetter and each and every GFWC member who contacted their representatives in Congress on the bill's behalf. When GFWC works together there is no barrier too large to overcome!
Clubwoman Lilly Ledbetter, along with Michelle Obama and the Act's Congressional co-sponsors, participated in the bill signing ceremony in the East Room of the White House on Thursday, January 29. It is a day for all of GFWC to celebrate!
