President Joe Biden on Monday reflected on the life of Lilly Ledbetter, calling the Alabama woman who fought for equal pay “a fearless leader and advocate” who “inspired us all.”

Ledbetter, who was the inspiration for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act — the first piece of legislation signed by then-President Barack Obama in 2009 — died Saturday at 86.

After finding out that through an anonymous note that her male colleagues at Goodyear Tire’s plant in Gadsden were making as much as $2,000 a month more than her for the same job, Ledbetter sued the company. A jury later awarded Ledbetter $3.3 million in damages, but that was later struck down.

In 2007, Ledbetter’s case reached the Supreme Court, which, in a 5-4 decision, agreed with the appeals court that she had not met the 180-day deadline for filing her claim. In a dissenting opinion, however, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg urged Congress to amend the law to correct the court’s “parsimonious reading” of it.

“Lilly Ledbetter was a fearless leader and advocate for equal pay,” Biden said in a statement Monday. “Her fight began on the factory floor and reached the Supreme Court and Congress, and she never stopped fighting for all Americans to be paid what they deserve. Before she was a household name, Lilly was like so many other women in the workforce: she worked hard, with dignity, only to find out she was being paid less than a man for the same work.

“Because of Lilly’s tireless efforts, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act—a critical step forward in the fight to close the gender and racial wage gaps—became the first bill signed in the Obama-Biden Administration. It was an honor to stand with Lilly as the bill that bears her name was made law,” the president said.

“Lilly’s decades of relentless advocacy inspired us all and have brought us closer to living up to our Nation’s core values of equality and fairness,” Biden continued. “Vice President Harris and I remain committed to building on Lilly’s legacy and to strengthening equal pay protections for all workers.”

The president said he and First Lady Jill Biden, “send our love and condolences to Lilly’s family and all of the women she empowered and continues to inspire.”