Hurrah for Lilly Ledbetter!

I had my own Lilly Ledbetter experience a long time ago. I was working a job where I had been trained at the same time as another person (a guy) for the same position. Coming in to the job, I will grant that he had more experience than me and was probably starting out at a higher pay based on that. But we did the same job for a couple of years. I was told several times or it was implied that I was of equal and in some instances more valued. So one day my colleague (who was also a good friend) put in his notice to leave. Management decided that I would go ahead and be taking over all his assignments in addition to the ones I already had. My colleague came to me and said, “If I were you. I would ask for more money.” Good advice and I took it. They made a deal with me that at the end of three months I would receive a raise.

This operation was a small business and the owner was a not-so-nice person so I had concerns that they would “forget” about the raise. So at the end of that period I went in to remind my manager (who was a woman) that I was due the raise. She slipped and made a statement that yes, I would now make as much as my former colleague. Basically, my raise would raise me on par with the former colleague and I would still be doing both jobs. When she saw the look on my face, the look on her face told me she knew she made a grave mistake. And she did. I walked out of her office and immediately started looking for a new job.

Know your own worth and push to be compensated fairly no matter what your gender.