Iowans celebrate 16th anniversary of Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

(ABC 6 News) – The American Association of University Women of Iowa is celebrating the anniversary of a law aimed to fight pay discrimination.

Wednesday, January 29th marks the 16th anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The law enables and ensures that individuals are able to challenge ongoing pay discrimination, even if they were initially unaware of it.

On Wednesday morning, co-presidents of the AAUW of Iowa, Kim Folkers and Pat Higby, issued the following statement to celebrate the anniversary:

“AAUW Iowa celebrates the anniversary of the signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.  But there is still work to be done.  Women earn 84% of an average man’s salary, and in Iowa that number is 80%.  Three ways we can make that better are by passing legislation that prohibits retaliation for discussing wages, legislation that prohibits the use of salary history in hiring, and increasing the minimum wage.”