“If you always think what you always thought, you'll always do what you always did and you'll always get what you always got, and think what you always thought.” – Anonymous
It was a moment of silence for me – the pen swooping swiftly across the paper – equal pay for equal work. It seems so simple and equitable like the lessons we were taught in primary school.
The day President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law on Jan. 29, I sat with eyes fixed to the television on CNN.
The passage of the bill means that women can challenge unequal pay.
A woman with cropped blond hair and librarian-style glasses told of her plight in a voice that sounded like that of the Coal Miner’s Daughter.
Lilly Ledbetter was employed as a supervisor at Goodyear Tire & Rubber plant in Gadsden, Ala. from 1979 to 1998.
She worked as an area manager for most of her career. The majority of people in her position were men.
At first her salary paralleled the salaries of the men performing substantially similar work. Over time Ledbetter’s pay stagnated compared to the pay of male area managers who had the same or even less seniority.
At the end of 1997 she was the only woman in the position of area manager and the pay discrepancy was blatantly obvious. Ledbetter was paid $3,727 per month while the lowest-paid male area manager received $4,286 and the highest paid received $5,236 per month.
The act addresses fairness and equality in an era of desperation.
It also makes the statement that maybe the best man for the job is not always a man.
I’m not touting womanpower, just human power and basic human rights.
It’s simple. It’s like picking a bushel of apples, or in Lake County, pears. If a man and a woman both contribute the same amount, why would the man walk away with more pieces of gold?
According the National Women’s Law Center, the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act reverses the Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling in 2007 and restores the ability of victims of wage discrimination to hold their employers accountable for injustice and challenge the practice in court.
“This is truly a monumental achievement for women – and all workers. The Supreme Court stripped workers of their ability to fight wage discrimination but now a new president and Congress have stepped in and restored their basic legal rights,” said Marcia D. Greenberger, co-president of the National Women’s Law Center. “Employers will now be held accountable for each discriminatorily reduced paycheck, because every time pay is unfairly lowered, it’s a violation of the law and fundamental fairness.”
It takes perseverance and patience to fight the good fight or envision the big picture as Ledbetter learned in her experience, Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 550 U.S. 618 (2007), U.S. Supreme Court.
When I consider equality for women, I often look to famed sociologist, philosopher, feminist and author, Mary Wollstonecraft, born in 1797, an avid advocate of independence and education for women.
During an unlikely era she stood firm about the importance of self-discipline, honesty, frugality and social contentment. She placed the responsibility of sensibility, economics and political theory on women while fully appreciating the role of motherhood. She died from complications associated with childbirth when her daughter, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, author of “Frankenstein,” was born.
In the spirit of strong women, strong humans, Ledbetter stood in front of a crowd in Washington DC, her image on the televisions of many millions, proving that we all have a voice.
The world is tumultuous at best now. The simple act promoting civilized and fair behavior provided some respite from the cold winds of war, poverty and overwhelming hopelessness.
Mandy Feder is an award-winning writer and editor who now joins Lake County News as a columnist and contributor.
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