The plaintiff in an historic gender discrimination case will be the keynote speaker for MTSU’s biennial Women’s and Gender Studies Conference, a major part of the university’s National Women’s History Month celebration.
Lilly Ledbetter, whose judicial battle with the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. led to the passage of federal legislation, will deliver her address from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. Friday, April 5, in the Student Union Building Ballroom. A book signing is slated for immediately after the speech.
After working for Goodyear’s plant in Gadsden, Ala., for 19 years, Ledbetter retired and filed suit against her employer in 1998 when she learned she had been making thousands of dollars less per year than men who held the same position.
Despite winning a lower court decision of $3 million, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that Ledbetter could not be compensated because she had not filed suit 180 days from receiving her first discriminatory paycheck, a requirement of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
However, as dissenting justices in the 5-4 decision pointed out, Ledbetter did not even know about the pay disparity until years after receiving her first unequal paycheck.
The outrage from equal-pay activists sparked the 2007 introduction of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The measure altered the law to allow discriminatory acts outside of the 180-day period to be included in litigation if discrimination persists in the present day. Its 2009 passage was the first legislative victory of President Barack Obama’s administration.
The Women’s and Gender Studies Conference will attract scholars and experts from around the world to the Student Union Ballroom, where all of its events will take place Thursday, April 4, through Saturday, April 6.
With the theme of “Global Discourses in Women’s and Gender Studies: An Interdisciplinary Conference,” the agenda will include the screening of “Saving Face,” the 2012 Academy Award winner in the Documentary (Short Subject) category, at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, April 4.
The movie chronicles the trauma of Pakistani women who have acid thrown in their faces when they rebelled against husbands or other men.
A professional development workshop, “Hunger as a Global Challenge for Higher Education,” is slated for 4 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 4.
The mentors will be a trio from Auburn University: Dr. June M. Henton, dean of the College of Human Sciences; Harriet W. Giles, director of external relations for the College of Human Sciences; and Paula Gray Hunker, World Food Programme Senior Adviser.
A dance performance sponsored by MTSU’s Confucius Center is set to follow from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Another dance performance, “The Exodus Project II: Understanding Diversity through Dance,” is scheduled for 2 to 3:30 p.m. Friday, April 5.
All National Women’s History Month events are free and open to the public.
Source:
Jimmy Hart, MTSU
Director, News & Media Relations
