In her keynote speech at the American Association of University Women national convention yesterday, Lilly Ledbetter told attendees she wishes she hadn’t needed to become a national figure because she wishes she’d never been a victim of inequality.  However, now that she is a standard bearer, she’s not content to rest after the passage of the the Fair Pay Act that bears her name.  She told the convention:

Our work is not done.  I told Obama that day.

Ledbetter urged attendees to ask their senators to support the Paycheck Fairness Act.  As Senator Barbara Mikulski explained:

Women make this country run. We are business leaders, entrepreneurs, politicians, mothers and more. Yet we still earn just 78 cents for every dollar our male counterpart makes. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was necessary to keep the courthouse door open for victims of pay discrimination, but we need the Paycheck Fairness Act to stop discrimination from happening in the workplace in the first place.

Lorie Jackson, a human resources professional scheduled to moderate an AAUW pannel discussion on workplace discrimination, said:

We, as women, cannot sit back and wait for someone else to resolve the problems we share. Our voice and vision have been the missing piece of the equation.  The more active we are in fighting discrimination of any kind, the tighter our bonds will be, which means we as a community – as a nation – will be stronger.