When I think about the Fight for Equal Pay, This is What I See.

Maybe I have read Brown Bear Brown Bear a few to many times to my two-year-old daughter. But when I think about the fight for equal pay, this is what I see.

Senator Kennedy (D-MA) never giving up. Even when he was sick, very sick, he pressed forward to fight for equal pay. Before he passed away I had the honor of meeting him. When I shook his hands, they felt like my grandfather’s --- squishy and cloud-like. He is sorely missed, but his fighting spirit for equal pay and justice continues.

Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and the fire in her belly. Want to get fired up about fair pay? This is your woman. The lead sponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act in the House, she not only talks the talk, but walks the walk when it comes to moving equal pay forward. Now if we could only bottle up her fighting spirit for equal pay and sprinkle it over all of Congress. How amazing would that be?

Betty Dukes and the brave women of Wal-Mart pressing forward for justice. Even though the Supreme Court ruled that the Wal-Mart women could not band together as a single class to challenge the discrimination they described in receiving lower pay and fewer promotions, their fight for fair pay is far from over. Move over David, Betty and the women of Wal-Mart are continuing their fight against the largest employer in the world. How’s that for inspiration?

President Obama signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. It was the first bill he signed. I was lucky enough to be in the room and even luckier to spend countless hours with Lilly fighting to pass the bill. Years after her Supreme Court case has ended, Lilly continues to advocate for equal pay. And when she is in DC and has time, she likes a good grilled cheese sandwich and sweet potato fries. What’s not to love?

My two year old daughter. My motivation to keep fighting for equal pay. She’s one smart cookie and someday she will make a great employee and even better boss. I hope she works in a world that the wage gap is a thing of the past --- something in the footnotes of Wikipedia.