Rebecca Dark wants us to know that there’s more to Dress for Success Austin than suits. Dark, the local chapter’s program manager, says the nonprofit continually expands its programs to be more inclusive to women at all stages of their careers and at all income levels. “We serve women who were trying to get a job and those who are trying to get a better job,” said Dark.
In fact, many of the clients who do turn to Dress for Success for help already have jobs. Dark says, however, that 72 percent of those clients make less than $15 an hour, barely enough for a family of two to make ends meet. In Texas, the annual income for a full-time worker paid the current minimum wage of $7.25 comes to $15,080, which is below what the federal government would describe as poverty for a family of two. Earning $15 an hour would put a woman’s annual income at $31,200 a year, close to the annual income that would qualify her child for reduced-fee lunch at school, which is $29,637. “We’re trying not to segment our clients by income level,” said Dark, in order to make sure anyone who identifies as a woman is welcome to use their services. But considering women still earn 82 cents for every dollar a man earns, it’s clear that even those clients who come to Dress for Success and have jobs have to work harder to earn more.