Lilly Ledbetter’s Enduring Vision

I'll never forget the day I met Lilly Ledbetter for the first time. It was at a White House event in 2016 commemorating the seventh anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The law, the first that Barack Obama signed as President, expanded the rights of employees to challenge pay discrimination. But it was Lilly’s story, as a trailblazer in the fight for equal pay, that captivated all of us in the room that day, as it has captivated so many over the years.

Lilly, who died this weekend at age 86, spent almost two decades working at a Goodyear plant in Alabama. After discovering through an anonymous note that she was being paid significantly less than men doing the same job, she made the brave decision to challenge the system—first through a decade of legal action, and then, when the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately ruled against her, fighting successfully for legislative change.

Lilly’s story deeply resonated with me as the CEO of a large public company. In 2015, two female executives at Salesforce came to me and said we might be paying women less than men. I had always believed that Salesforce was one of a tiny minority of tech companies that truly valued gender equality. But the truth was, we weren’t as far along as I’d thought. After conducting a thorough audit, looking at every salary of every employee, we found significant pay disparities.

That was a turning point for Salesforce. We immediately took action, investing $3 million to close the gaps we had identified. Since then, we’ve continued to conduct regular audits, particularly after making acquisitions of other companies, and as of 2022, we’ve spent $22 million as part of this process to ensure pay equity at Salesforce.  It’s not just about fixing the problem once. It’s about making sure we are operationalizing equality as a core value of our company.

A year after our initial meeting, I was with Lilly again as Salesforce honored her with an Equality Award for her vision and courage. On another occasion, she spoke at our company’s annual Dreamforce event in San Francisco, sharing her story with thousands of attendees. It was then that I also met Rachel Feldman, a director who was in the early stages of making a feature film based on Lilly’s life. Inspired by the importance of Lilly’s message, I provided some funding to help the film to get to production.

Last week, the movie, starring Patricia Clarkson as Lilly, had its world premiere at the Hamptons International Film Festival. As the audience gave Clarkson a standing ovation, Lilly’s daughter, Vickie, was there to witness the moment. Vickie had the opportunity to share the excitement with her mother before she passed away, which made that moment even more special.

Lillly Ledbetter taught us that equality isn’t something that happens by stating a commitment—it’s something we have to fight for, with intention and persistence. Her willingness to challenge the status quo not only helped change laws but helped shape a new era in corporate responsibility. Executives like me owe Lilly a debt of gratitude. She showed us that business can be the greatest platform for change—if we seize the opportunity. Her legacy will live on in every paycheck that reflects fairness, and in every company that follows her example. We owe it to her to finish the job.