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According to a report released from the Center for American Progress Action Fund, raising the minimum wage would also be a pillar for women's rights
Annie-Rose Strasser - Think Progress – February
13, 2013
During Tuesday night's State of the
1. Two-thirds of minimum wage earners are women. A
disproportionate number of women in the workforce hold the lowest-paying jobs,
a fact that contributes to the gender pay gap. This means that women are far
more likely to benefit from a wage increase:
2. Families benefit from a wage increase. Sixty percent
of women are the primary or co-bread winners in their households. More money in
their paychecks means more for their families:
3. Over 17 million women would benefit. The total number
of women who would be earning more if Congress approved a minimum wage hike is
13.1 million. 8.9 million of these receive a direct benefit, while another 4.2
million women would enjoy the so-called "spillover effect" of
increased wages to keep up with a changing wage structure:
Arguments against the minimum wage - made, within hours
of Obama's speech, by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), and House
Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) - are predicated on the idea that it would weaken
job growth or ruin the economy. In fact, studies show the opposite: that it
would strengthen job creation, particularly when unemployment is high, as it is
now.
[Annie-Rose Strasser is a Reporter/Blogger for
ThinkProgress. Before joining American Progress, she worked for the community
organizing non-profit Center for Community Change as a new media specialist.
Previously, Annie-Rose served as a press assistant for Representative Debbie
Wasserman Schultz. Annie-Rose holds a B.A. in English and Creative Writing from
the