There are over 200,000 tipped workers in Illinois. Over two-thirds of these workers are women, 36 percent of whom are mothers. Because tipped restaurant workers are 66 percent women and non-tipped restaurant workers are 43 percent women, the subminimum wage for tipped workers creates legislated gender pay inequity in the restaurant industry, perpetuating the gender pay gap and leading to disproportionately higher rates of poverty for women.