Two in three minimum wage workers are women, and many women work in low-wage jobs that pay just a few dollars (or cents) more. As a result, millions of women and families nationwide are struggling to make ends meet.

Now there’s a bill before Congress that could have a huge impact for these working families. The Raise the Wage Act would increase the federal minimum wage to $12 an hour and give more than 21 million working women, including 9.3 million women of color, a raise.

At just $7.25 an hour, today’s federal minimum wage leaves a full-time working woman with two children living thousands of dollars below the poverty line. The Raise the Wage Act, just introduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, would change that: it would increase the federal minimum wage to $12 by 2020, boosting paychecks for nearly one in three working women — 21.1 million total, including 6.8 million working moms.

The Raise the Wage Act would also index the minimum wage starting in 2021 so it keeps up with wages overall. And it would gradually phase out the minimum cash wage for tipped workers to ensure they are paid a fair minimum wage before tips — because right now, employers can pay tipped workers an hourly wage of just $2.13.

This bill is critical to the economic security of working women and their families. Urge your Members of Congress to co-sponsor the Raise the Wage Act.

Thank you for all you do for women and families.

Sincerely,
Joan Entmacher
Vice President for Family Economic Security
National Women’s Law Center