“First, the tough news: Although women make up 49% of the total workforce , they represent 59% of low-wage workers. That number is down from 63% a decade ago, but research from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) shows that it will take until 2056 for women and men’s earnings to reach pay parity–if the wage gap continues to close at the same pace it has for the last 50 years. ”