Single mothers and female same-sex couples, especially, require equal pay in order to provide for themselves and their families. Many women have a hard time feeding their kids due to the wage gap, which contributes to the fact that “around one in five American children is food-insecure,” therefore, if the wage gap did not exist there would be far fewer hungry children. In addition, when one of the children in a single-mothered family is sick, not having enough money either precludes mothers from being able to pay for child care or forces them to stay home from work. Further, in many cases, if a woman is abused by her partner, one reason she may be able to leave is because she is financially stable. If she does not have that financial security, it is difficult for her to leave. For many women, the wage gap “isn't a matter of having more money in their pockets, it's a matter of survival” (Arquette). The wage gap also adversely affects women when it is time to retire because they will have less money saved, but they typically live longer than men, which can lead to higher poverty rates for elderly women. Approximately 17 percent of women over the age of 65 live in poverty, compared to the 12 percent of men over 65 living in poverty. Due to the gender wage gap, “men make a median income of…