Discrimination in the Workplace: An Evening with Lilly LedbetterDiscrimination in the Workplace: An Evening with Lilly Ledbetterhttp://www.haverford.edu/calendar/details/128941BMC: Thomas Great Hall2010-03-22T19:00:002010-03-22T21:00:00
March 22, 7:00PM
BMC: Thomas Great Hall
Description
Lilly Ledbetter is a tireless advocate for gender equality who has been fighting to close the gender wage gap for over 10 years. Ms. Ledbetter will speak about her experiences with discrimination in the workplace, and how she fought back to ensure that others in her situation can receive equal pay for equal work. She will be joined by Jocelyn Samuels, an expert on discrimination in education and employment.
Lilly Ledbetter, a manager at the Goodyear Tire Plant in Alabama, was paid less than her male coworkers for 20 years, even though they were doing the same work. She sued, and a jury awarded her what she was owed. The Supreme Court overturned the ruling, and decided that Lilly should have sued right after the first discriminatory paycheck she received – even though she only discovered the discrimination 20 years after it began. Rather than give up, Ms. Ledbetter turned her defeat into a battle for the rights of others facing discrimination. She worked tirelessly to change the law, and in January of 2009, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law, taking decisive action to close the gender wage gap.
Jocelyn Samuels is a Senior Counselor to the Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. Prior to coming to the Department of Justice, Ms. Samuels was Vice President for Education and Employment at the National Women’s Law Center, where she focused on barriers to advancement for women and girls in schools and the workplace.
This event is sponsored by the SGA Special Events Fund, the X Factor, the Sociology Department, and LEAP.
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