COLUMBUS (WCMH) – The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio is hosting its annual Statehouse Day, called “Making HerStory”.

The Women’s Fund said the average woman’s lifetime loss of wages is about $507,000 because of the gender pay gap, if a woman begins her career fulltime at age 20. Two hundred women and men from across Ohio came to the Statehouse to learn about equal pay for equal work and other women’s issues.

Lilly Ledbetter, a trailblazer for pay equity, was also there talking about her historic fight for equal rights in the workplace.

“Unequal pay for equal work is not the law,” said Ledbetter. “Equal pay for equal work is an American right.”

Ledbetter has fought to close the pay gap between women and men, sparked by her own case against Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company.

“I worked for almost 20 years in a company that was paying me 35-40% less than the three white men that we had the same job,” she said. “I don’t mean similar, exact same job.”

She was defeated in court, but she kept fighting until the Supreme Court decision was nullified when President Obama signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

“It’s important to share the Ledbetter story, because it’s not just my story, it belongs to every family across this nation,” said Ledbetter.

Families like Mary B. Relotto’s, who came to the Making HerStory event.

“Here in Central Ohio women are only making 78 cents on the dollar,” said Relotto. “Pay equity is huge. Equal pay for equal work.”

She decided to run for state representative after going to the Women’s March in Washington D.C. last year.

“When I came back from D.C. I couldn’t sit idly by anymore and just let it go,” said Relotto. “I wanted to take action and be involved and engaged in the community.”

And, that’s what this event was all about.

“HerStory means that the power of one, the power of voice and then forming a collective around that is really possible and it’s impactful and change can happen if we apply the right pressure over the long-term,” said director of strategic communications for the Women’s Fund Urvi Patel. “We can really have things advance in our favor.”