Book dossier

Grace and grit

by Lilly M. Ledbetter

"Married at seventeen, Lilly soon had two children. Depressed about the poverty her family was living in, and the death of her dreams of a bigger life, she went against her husband's wishes and got a job. When, after years of hard work and ambition, Lilly was hired for her dream job--a management position at the Goodyear Tire factory in Gadsden, Alabama--it was heady stuff. As a child, Lilly had been extremely jealous of a classmate whose father worked at Goodyear, because she had all the things--new clothes, vacations, a big house--that Lilly did not. Little did she know her dream would turn into a daily nightmare of sexual harassment. Fondled on the factory floor, propositioned in evaluation meetings, transferred between departments when she complained, Lilly was disheartened but soldiered on, willing to deal with the daily indignities in order to provide for her family. She did so until the day in 1998 when an anonymous note revealed that after devoting 19 years to Goodyear, Lilly was earning thousands of dollars per year less than men in her position. Angry, insulted, and hurt, Lilly took action. She brought a sexual discrimination suit against the company and won, only to heartbreakingly lose on appeal. Eight years later her case was heard before the Supreme Court, where, in a 5-4 vote, she lost on a technicality. Realizing the issue was bigger than she was, Lilly continued acting as a tireless advocate for equal pay, right up to the day she stood behind President Obama and watched him sign her namesake legislation" -- Publisher's description.