evidence: - Minimum wage increases affect adults in their career-building years who are helping to support their families—with women disproportionately benefiting from a pay boost. The average age of workers who would see a pay increase under the Raise the Wage Act is 35 years old. About 90% of those with increased wages would be adults age 20 or older. Most of the workers who would benefit are women (59%) even though men are a majority of the workforce. More than half of those who would have higher pay work full time (59%). Past research shows that these workers are often the primary earners for their families, producing the majority of their family’s total income. [...] The immediate benefits of a minimum wage increase are in the earnings boost for the lowest-paid workers, but increasing the minimum wage to $9.50 this year and the increases thereafter would deliver broader benefits to the economy, particularly now. The economy is still reeling from the stunning collapse of economic activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Extra dollars in the pockets of millions of working families would help by boosting aggregate demand. Economists generally recognize that low-wage workers are more likely than any other income group to spend any extra earnings immediately on previously unaffordable basic needs or services. Indeed, research by Cooper, Luengo-Prado, and Parker (2019) finds that minimum wage increases are associated with higher consumer spending, particularly in places with higher concentrations of low-wage workers.