Lilly Ledbetter will speak at AU on March 18 about her advocacy for fair pay for men and women, in an event at the University Club hosted by the Kennedy Political Union.
The event is free and open to all students.
Ledbetter spent her recent career fighting the gender wage gap she experienced as a supervisor at a Goodyear plant in Alabama. Ledbetter sued Goodyear, and though she won her initial lawsuit against the company, Goodyear appealed the decision to the Supreme Court where the company eventually won the suit.
Ledbetter later inspired the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, which gives more legal power to women who wish to sue companies who give uneven wages. She also wrote a book about her experiences at the plant, titled “Grace and Grit: How I Won My Fight at Goodyear.” The book is slated to become a movie.
“We are thrilled to host Ms. Ledbetter, one of the nation’s leading advocates on issues surrounding equal pay and employment discrimination, on our politically engaged campus,” KPU Director Chandler Thornton said.
