This is a wonderful day.

Just after taking office in 2009,

just after taking office in 2009,

President Barack Obama signed his first Just after taking office in 2009,

President Barack Obama signed his first bill into law.

The Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act.

And it was named after the woman who was standing just behind him.

Lily Ledbetter did not set out to be a trailblazer or a household name. She was just a good hard worker who did her job and she did it well.

Ledbetter used to work at a tire factory in Alabama, but after about two decades at the company,

she discovered that she was being paid significantly less than her male coworkers, so she

sued her employer.

She set out on a journey that would take more than 10 years,

take her all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States,

and lead to this day and this bill which will help others get the justice that she was denied.

The Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 was the most significant bill to address pay discrimination in decades.

And it's still the only federal law passed this century to tackle the issue.

Lily Ledbetter died on Saturday at the age of 86,

and she'll be remembered as having played a major role

in the fight for pay equity.

Welcome to the journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Jessica Mendoza.

It's Thursday, October 17th.

Coming up on the show, the legacy of Lily Ledbetter and the continued fight for equal pay.

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