Dive Brief:

• Retail jobs are a key income source for women and their families. More than 95% of year-round retail female employees are 20 years old or older, and 40.3% are raising children, according to a report by U.S. think tank Demos, which focuses on equality issues. 

• Almost half (49.7%) provide at least half of their family’s income, and 20% of female retail workers earning less than $12.25 per hour (an annual full-time salary of $25,000) are their families’ sole breadwinners.

• Demos also argues that increased wages would not only lift families out of poverty, but also help contribute to a domestic workforce with more spending power that in turn would benefit the retailers themselves.

Dive Insight:

Many in the U.S. are increasingly concerned about the nation’s income gap, and the current debate on the minimum wage reflects that. This Demos report leapfrogs over that debate, however, saying that the proposed increase to $10.10 nationally remains a poverty wage for full time workers. Demos argues that the costs to retailers and consumers would be minimal compared to the benefits of lifting women and their families out of poverty. Not only would those workers have more to spend at retailers, but some say increased wages make for better workers that help boost profits.