Progress on Minimum Wage Increase in Delaware is Good News for Women

This week, the Delaware Senate labor committee approved a bill that would raise the minimum wage in the state by $1 over the next two years, from the federal level of $7.25 to $8.25. This increase in the minimum wage is a step in the right direction towards stimulating Delaware’s economy and helping women workers.

This increase would be very beneficial for women who account for two-thirds of individuals who made at or below the federal minimum wage in 2010. As our Julie Vogtman points out, increasing the minimum wage will also contribute to closing the wage gap between men and women. In Delaware, the typical woman working full time, year round in 2010 earned only 81 percent of what her male counterpart earned.

Further, studies show that raising the minimum wage is beneficial for the economy. The extra cash that low-wage workers’ families make because of a wage increase is often immediately spent, giving a boost to the economy. In addition, increasing the income for low-wage workers leads to lower turnover and also boosts worker effort.

While this increase in the minimum wage would benefit workers, businesses, and families in Delaware, it won’t be a complete victory for low-wage workers if the law passes. Accounting for inflation, the federal minimum wage should be at over $10 an hour, compared to its high water mark in 1968. Delaware’s proposed increase would leave its minimum wage well below this level still.

Delaware took a step towards improving their economy that would also help low-wage workers and their families, many of whom are women. However, since only a fewer than half the states have a minimum wage above the federal level, more work needs to be done in the states and in Congress to make sure that all workers have the chance to earn a living wage and that women are obtaining fair pay for equal work.