Big wins for women

On Tuesday the United States will shatter one major glass ceiling when Barack Obama is sworn in as president. And if this week was any indication, maybe it will be a year of shattering ceilings.

2009: The year of the woman?
Sen. Hillary Clinton was on the Hill this week, and was quickly endorsed endorsed to become Secretary of State. Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano also appeared, vying to become director of homeland security. A third female cabinet nominee—Hilda Solis, who is up for Labor Secretary—appeared last week.

Even so there were two other big wins for women this week: a new female CEO at Yahoo and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

More women at the helm
The appointment of Carol Bartz to the CEO job at Yahoo brought the number of women running Fortune 500 companies to a record 14. The last time we touched on this was in 2006, when there were 11. 

Lilly Ledbetter
During the campaign you may have heard Obama talk about Lily Ledbetter, or maybe you saw her speak at the Democratic National Convention.

Ledbetter was a long-time employee of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., who received an anonymous note in her mailbox confirming something she suspected: male counterparts were making more money. She sued and won. Goodyear appealed to the Supreme Court, which ruled 5 to 4 that suits must be filed within 180 days of the first paycheck after discovering the pay gap. In 1998, Ledbetter inquired in March about the discrepancy, filed a complaint with the EEOC in July, retired, and filed suit in November, so she lost. 

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
You'll be hearing more about Lilly Ledbetter because she's also the lead character in a bill that's working its way through Congress. The legislation that has already passed in the House says every new paycheck resets the 180-day time limit, allowing for more room to file suit. The Senate will soon vote on the bill.

The big picture
Obama talked a lot on the campaign trail about narrowing the pay gap between men and women, often referring to the fact that he's raising two daughters. Opponents say this legislation will put businesses at risk of a slew of lawsuits.

It's not new news that women make on average 80 cents on the dollar to men, a controversial number some say because of various factors--women aren't in the workforce as long, and so on. But even a government report shows that when accounting for various factors, pay differences still exist for reasons they aren’t sure about. (See the report.) 

In cases that are apples to apples, like the Ledbetter case seems to be, I'm always reminded of a friend who at bonus time would pick up the phone and call her male colleagues to find out what they got. Did their bonus match hers for doing the same job? It seems Lilly Ledbetter is just making the legal case for the same concept; Obama says he'll sign legislation if it reaches his desk. Sometimes, as with the economy, it takes a little help from the government.