Women's equality leader Lilly Ledbetter to speak at KU


Wed, 10/24/2012

author

Kathy Rose-Mockry

Lily Ledbetter


LAWRENCE— Lilly Ledbetter was employed by Goodyear Tire and Rubber for 19 years before she discovered that she was paid far less for the same work as her male peers were being paid. After fighting tirelessly for over a decade (taking her case all the way to the Supreme Court), the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was passed by Congress and signed into law as President Obama's first official act. Her recently released memoir is titled "Grace and Grit" and tells her triumphant story in the fight for equal pay.

Ledbetter will give this year's lecture for the Jana Mackey Distinguished Lecture Series, "'And Justice for All? Why Equal Pay for Women Matters to Everyone" at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 1 at the Kansas Union Woodruff Auditorium at the University of Kansas. Her presentation will be followed by a book signing of "Grace and Grit."

The Jana Mackey Distinguished Lecture Series was established in 2009 to commemorate late women's rights activist and KU law student Jana Lynne Mackey.

Mackey, 25, was found dead in her ex-boyfriend's home on July 3, 2008. At KU, Mackey was a second year-law student and an active member of the Commission on the Status of Women. Dedicated to promoting equality for women, Mackey volunteered for GaDuGi SafeCenter, as a lobbyist in Kansas for the National Organization of Women and on several political campaigns. She received a bachelor's degree in women's studies from KU in 2004.

The Jana Mackey Distinguished Lecture Series is sponsored by the Emily Taylor Center for Women and Gender Equity in collaboration with the following KU entities: Commission on the Status of Women; Office of Diversity and Equity; Office of Multicultural Affairs; School of Law; School of Social Welfare; Student Bar Association; Student Involvement and Leadership Center; Student Senate; Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies Department, and Women in Law; and two community organizations: GaDuGi SafeCenter and Willow Domestic Violence Center. Support has also been provided by the Multicultural Education Fund and Jana's Campaign.

The program is free and open to the public. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information about Jana and this lecture series, visit online.


Wed, 10/24/2012

author

Kathy Rose-Mockry

Media Contacts

Kathy Rose-Mockry

Emily Taylor Center for Women & Gender Equity

785-864-3552