WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 30: Women's equality activist Lilly Ledbetter after a news conference at ... [ ] the U.S. Capitol January 30, 2019 in Washington, DC. House Democrats held a news conference to introduce the "Paycheck Fairness Act." (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

This past weekend, the world lost a legendary advocate for women’s equality. Pay equity activist Lilly Ledbetter died at 86 years old in her home state of Alabama on Saturday, according to the Washington Post.

Ledbetter became a driving force for fair pay after taking her longtime employer to court—an act that ignited Ledbetter’s journey from career woman to equal pay activist to icon and Women’s Hall of Famer. Ledbetter began working as the only woman supervisor at an Alabama Goodyear tire plant in 1979—a mere 5 years after women were guaranteed the right to open their own bank account in America and two years before the Supreme Court would see its first woman justice. Ledbetter worked at that plant for 19 years and was still the lone woman in her position when she retired nearly two decades later.

During that time, Ledbetter faced repeated sexism and discrimination at the plant—which she previously described to Forbes as a "good ol' boy plant”—including sexual harassment from one of her managers. In an op-ed for the New York Times, Ledbetter wrote that early in her career, her manager demanded sexual favors and threatened to fire her if she didn’t comply. Fearing for her safety and her job, she reported the harassment to HR, and while her harasser never faced consequences, Ledbetter ultimately did.

It wasn’t until nearly two decades later—when Ledbetter approached her retirement in 1998—that she received an anonymous letter that forever altered her future and the broader fight........

© Forbes