Data: Institute for Women’s Policy Research; Chart: Harry Stevens/Axios
Women don't earn 80% of what men earn. The true number is closer to 50%.
Driving the news: A new report from the Institute for Women's Policy Research looks at how much money women actually earned, in aggregate, over three different 15-year time periods. While men's incomes were largely unchanged over the past 50 years, and women's rose significantly, women are still only halfway to equality.
Women make less money than men when they are earning — and they're also far more likely to be earning nothing at all. 43% of women have had zero income in at least one of the past 15 years. That's twice the rate of men.
Why it matters: A new IMF study concludes that as women find it easier to enter the workforce, national economic growth improves, and even male incomes go up.
