Fair Pay Act: A Conversation with Lilly Ledbetter and Rachel Feldman

September 17, 2021
Lilly Ledbetter is an activist and champion of change, whose story prompted the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act of 2009, the first official piece of legislation to pass during Barack Obama’s time in office.
Lilly’s began working at the Goodyear Tire Factory in Alabama in 1979 as the only female manager on staff. After twenty years of service, sacrifice and enduring a culture of sexual and other toxic forms of harassment, Lilly received a tip that she was earning far less in compensation and benefits than her male counterparts, sending Ledbetter on her fight for equal pay for equal work.
Although Ledbetter’s fight for justice eventually led to the Fair Pay Act in 2009, proven evidence and testimony around unfair practices did not help her win her case, even when brought to The Supreme Court. Lilly lost on a technicality and was never financially compensated yet was encouraged by Ruth Bader Ginsburg to take her case to Congress for further consideration. Lilly became the voice of a movement that would eventually create “equal pay for equal work,” a key mandate for change.
Lilly’s remarkable life has inspired a major motion picture, LILLY, a political thriller written and to be directed by veteran filmmaker Rachel Feldman, produced by J. Todd Harris (The Trial of the Chicago 7) to be shot this coming fall and winter.
Join The Executives’ Club of Chicago in conversation with Lilly Ledbetter on September 17th to hear more about her story, her social justice journey, and the motion picture being made based on her life. Julie Smolyansky, President & CEO of Lifeway Foods will moderate.