First Lady Michelle Obama honored Lilly Ledbetter with a reception at the White House today after President Obama signed the equal pay bill that bears Ledbetter's name.

Ledbetter is "an inspiration to women and men all across the country," Mrs. Obama said in her remarks at the reception, according to a pool report.

"She knew unfairness when she saw it and was willing to do something about it because it was the right thing to do, plain and simple," Mrs. Obama said.

Ledbetter discovered, on the verge of her retirement from a Goodyear plant, that she had been paid 40 percent less than her male peers. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which President Obama signed today, makes it easier for workers to file claims of pay discrimination by effectively extending the filing deadline, using the last discriminatory paycheck (rather than the first) to start the clock on the 180-day filing period.

"I know my daughters and granddaughters and your daughters and your granddaughters will have a better deal," Ledbetter said in her remarks at the reception. "That's what makes this fight worth fighting, that's what makes this fight one we had to win."

Obama and Ledbetter hugged after Ledbetter delivered her remarks, according to the pool report.

President Obama said it was fitting that he signed a bill granting greater ability to workers to sue for pay discrimination as his first as president.

"We are upholding one of this nation’s first principles: that we are all created equal and each deserve a chance to pursue our own version of happiness," Obama said in prepared remarks.

The House and Senate approved the so-called "Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act" this week, which extends the time frame in which workers, often women, are able to sue their employer for discriminatory pay decisions. The act is meant to ameliorate a Supreme Court decision enforcing a statute barring workers from suing beyond a short window of time following the beginning of the discriminatory pay.

"While this bill bears her name, Lilly knows this story isn’t just about her," the president said. "It’s the story of women across this country still earning just 78 cents for every dollar men earn."

"So in signing this bill today, I intend to send a clear message: That making our economy work means making sure it works for everyone," Obama added.

Click here to follow The Briefing Room’s latest news posts and blog summaries by signing up for our RSS feed.

Lilly Ledbetter, who took her gender pay discrimination case to the Supreme Court, endorsed Barack Obama for president Wednesday.

Ledbetter sued her former company, Goodyear, for discrimination, charging it with denying her raises because she was a woman. The Supreme Court decided against Ledbetter in a 5-to-4 decision, finding that she had waited too long to make her claim.

Obama's campaign used the endorsement, made during a forum with Michelle Obama in Richmond, Va., to highlight the Democrat's appeal to women voters.

"There is only one candidate who has stood up for women like me. Who has consistently fought to help women who are working hard every day for our families and aren't being paid fairly," Ledbetter said in a statement.

Ledbetter has been supportive of Democrats this election, speaking at the party's convention in Denver. Her case prompted Democrats to push for a law that would have changed the deadlines for filing a discrimination claim. The House passed the bill but it stalled due to Republican opposition in the Senate.