Following President Barack Obama's re-election this week, women's
rights and equal pay advocate Lilly Ledbetter told NBC News she was
overjoyed. "I no longer have to worry about the Ledbetter Bill being
repealed," she said, referring to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay
Act, named after her, which increased the timeframe women could sue for
pay discrepancies. During the campaign, Republican vice presidential
candidate Paul Ryan criticized the bill, saying it "was not an equal pay law" and was instead "about opening up the lawsuits."
So
why do women earn less than men? There are many theories out there, but
one thing is for sure: The lower your salary when you begin your
career, the harder it is to catch up.
