Grace and Grit

November 14, 2011
In 1998, after Ledbetter had spent 19 grueling years working at a Goodyear plant, an anonymous note showed her that she made 40% less than her male counterparts. So began her decade-long legal battle for equal pay, a story she tells movingly and frankly with coauthor Isom. After a hardscrabble childhood in a small Alabama community, Ledbetter knew a job at the nearby Goodyear plant meant lifelong financial stability. In 1979 as a manager there, Ledbetter found men reluctant to take orders from a woman, and faced blatant sexual harassment (a performance review ended with a solicitation). Ledbetter tried to take it in stride, but the stress took a mental and physical toll. Goodyear continually transferred her between departments, citing poor performance, but failed to produce evidence when Ledbetter requested it. After discovering the anonymous note, she filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, leading to her landmark discrimination lawsuit under Title VII and the Equal Pay Act. While Ledbetter lost the case on appeal (a decision upheld by the Supreme Court), the experience prompted her to become a spokesperson for equal pay. In January 2009, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, a satisfying coda to this inspiring tale. Agent: David Black Literary Agency.