Lilly Ledbetter has died at the age of 86. In 1999, Ledbetter sued Goodyear Tire after learning she was paid 40% less than male colleagues doing the same job. After the Supreme Court rejected her pay discrimination claim, Congress passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which became the first law signed by President Barack Obama in 2009. In 2012, Lilly Ledbetter spoke at the Democratic National Convention.

Lilly Ledbetter: “After nearly two decades of hard, proud work, I found out that I was making significantly less money than the men who were doing the same work as me. I went home, talked to my husband, and we decided to fight. We decided to fight for our family and for your family, too. We sought justice because equal pay for equal work is an American value.”