“We applaud U.S. Representatives Robert Scott (D-Va.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), and U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) for taking a step toward achieving greater economic security for women and families by introducing the Raise the Wage Act. This legislation would help to combat rising income inequality for all of America’s workers, but it would have an especially positive impact on women, who continue to face a punishing wage gap and workplace harassment, and are more likely to hold low-income jobs.

The Raise the Wage Act is just the first piece of legislation Congress will introduce to support working families and, especially, women. We also call on Congress to introduce and pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, to address the pernicious wage gap that costs women – and especially women of color – thousands of dollars per year and hundreds of thousands of dollars over their lifetimes; the FAMILY Act, to create a sustainable, comprehensive and inclusive national paid family and medical leave program; the Healthy Families Act, to set a national common-sense paid sick days standard; the Schedules that Work Act, to guarantee flexibility and predictability in work schedules; and legislation to combat workplace harassment of all kinds.

We urge members of Congress to support and swiftly pass the Raise the Wage Act and these other critical pieces of legislation and urge President Trump to sign these bills into law.”

According to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute, increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2024 would result in higher pay for more than one third of women workers, including 43 percent of Black women workers, more than 38 percent of Latina workers, nearly a third of white women workers and more than 20 percent of Asian women workers. Thirty-two percent of all working mothers and more than 44 percent of all single working mothers would also see pay increases. In addition, eliminating the sub-minimum tipped wage could help reduce sexual harassment for tipped workers, two-thirds of whom are women.