2017’s Best & Worst States for Women

4:01 AM

Posted by: Richie Bernardo

In 2017, women in some parts of America still get the short end of the stick — even as they outnumber men in all but six states. For instance, women represent nearly two-thirds of all minimum-wage workers in the U.S. They also constituted the majority of poor, uninsured adults in the 19 states that had not expand their Medicaid programs under the Affordable Care Act as of September 2016.

In order to determine how women are faring — and where they can find the best opportunities — relative to where they live, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 19 key indicators of living standards for women. Our data set ranges from “median earnings for female workers” to “women’s preventive health care” to “female homicide rate.” Read on for our findings, expert insight from a panel of researchers and a full description of our methodology.

  1. Main Findings
  2. Blue vs. Red States
  3. Ask the Experts
  4. Methodology

Main Findings

Embed on your website<iframe src="//d2e70e9yced57e.cloudfront.net/wallethub/embed/10728/women-geochart1.html" width="556" height="347" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> <div style="width:556px;font-size:12px;color:#888;">Source: <a href="http://ift.tt/2lLTKOw;  

Best States for Women

Overall Rank

State

Total Score

‘Women’s Economic & Social Well-Being’ Rank

‘Women’s Health & Safety’ Rank
1 Minnesota 78.37 1 5
2 Vermont 76.08 2 3
3 North Dakota 74.49 3 6
4 Massachusetts 73.53 7 2
5 New Hampshire 72.70 5 7
6 Wisconsin 71.79 4 10
7 Maine 70.58 6 8
8 Hawaii 70.33 14 1
9 Iowa 69.23 10 9
10 Connecticut 67.75 16 4
11 Maryland 66.48 9 21
12 Illinois 66.10 8 22
13 Washington 65.49 12 13
14 Colorado 63.14 11 25
15 Nebraska 62.84 15 19
16 South Dakota 62.61 18 15
17 Oregon 62.39 19 12
18 Virginia 62.22 17 17
19 Kansas 62.06 13 26
20 Delaware 61.80 20 11
21 California 59.81 25 16
22 Rhode Island 57.81 32 14
23 New Jersey 57.42 22 23
24 District of Columbia 55.84 29 24
25 Montana 55.59 27 27
26 New York 55.39 24 30
27 Missouri 55.03 23 31
28 Indiana 54.29 26 32
29 Utah 54.06 35 20
30 Ohio 52.94 33 29
31 Wyoming 52.85 28 35
32 Idaho 51.83 44 18
33 Kentucky 50.96 30 36
34 Tennessee 50.93 21 43
35 Michigan 50.04 34 37
36 Alaska 48.82 31 42
37 Pennsylvania 48.28 40 33
38 North Carolina 48.15 38 34
39 Arizona 46.87 46 28
40 Florida 46.72 37 39
41 West Virginia 46.00 36 41
42 Texas 45.47 43 38
43 New Mexico 43.45 41 45
44 Oklahoma 43.26 42 46
45 Arkansas 41.51 39 49
46 Georgia 40.42 48 40
47 Nevada 38.56 45 50
48 South Carolina 37.48 49 44
49 Alabama 37.02 47 51
50 Louisiana 35.41 51 47
51 Mississippi 34.01 50 48

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Ask the Experts

When choosing a new place to live, women are faced with many factors to consider. For additional insight, we asked a panel of experts to weigh in with their thoughts on the following key questions:

  1. What are the biggest financial issues facing women today?
  2. What factors, financial or otherwise, should women consider when choosing a city to live in?
  3. What should a state-level public-policy agenda for women include?
  4. How can local authorities better meet the needs of female residents? What should a public policy agenda for women include?
  5. What strategies have proven effective in encouraging more women to run for elected office?
< > Hanna Hartman Assistant Professor of Economics in the Offutt School of Business at Concordia College Hanna Hartman What are the biggest financial issues facing women today? The “pink tax”, childcare, clothing and fashion accessories, retirement planning, and health insurance. Some of these, of course, depend on if a woman has children and/or a partner or spouse. The “pink tax” refers to the concept that the same product sold to both genders will be sold at two different prices if the manufacturer is able to make color changes or other slight modifications aimed to appeal to one gender more strongly. The version of the product that is designed to appeal more to women rather than men is often priced higher. An example of this is shaving razors. The same design of a razor that is gray color is generally cheaper than the same razor that is pink. These are sometime subtle differences that may go unnoticed but can drive up the expense side of women’s budgets. Childcare expenses can place an enormous pressure on a woman’s financial decisions and in turn, can impact retirement planning and health insurance. If, for example, a woman decides to stay at home to raise children then she is not generating income and likely is not contributing to a retirement savings plan during this time. In addition, there are still needs for health insurance. Therefore, she may decide to start a daycare to be with her children to generate income. This means, then, that the woman is also a business owner and there are additional costs that come with that, too. If a woman elects to send children to a childcare setting while she works at another job, then there are financial issues with the difference in take-home pay after the childcare expenses are accounted for. Pressures or desires to keep up with trends in the fashion industry also can play a role in women’s financial decisions. Women tend to spend more on handbags, jewelry, and clothing basics: jeans, t-shirts, and shoes. Sometimes these pressures can even come from female peers. The “pink tax” also can play a role in the fashion industry, too. What factors, financial or otherwise, should women consider when choosing a city to live in? A variety of factors: housing quality and affordability, crime rates and safety of neighborhoods, quality of childcare, quality of the local education institutions, support of entrepreneurial ventures, and types of community engagement offered in an area, for example. A community where education is valued and supported often coincides with safer neighborhoods and desire for more community activities. Community building events help provide opportunities for women to meet others and build relationships within a community. It can be tempting to move to a city where salaries are higher, but often food, housing, and childcare expenses are higher in those areas. It is important to consider the purchasing power of income in a city. How can local authorities better meet the needs of female residents? What should a public policy agenda for women include? By intentionally seeking women’s input on what women identify as a safe community, local authorities can better meet the needs of female residents of all ages. Attention to childcare, early childhood programs, and educational quality in a community can benefit women who have children and the broader community, too. Local authorities also should not diminish the impact of wellness and education programming for adults in the community. Adult education programs can be extremely beneficial for women who may have taken time away from the labor force and are reentering, as they may seek to gain a new skill set or advance knowledge in in-demand careers. What strategies have proven effective in encouraging more women to run for elected office? Holding women’s leadership events, providing space for women to share about leadership experiences, and giving recognition to women leaders can all help encourage more women to run for elected office. Men can play a role, especially male elected officials, by voicing support for women seeking elected office. Promoting female participation in elected positions doesn’t just begin in adulthood. Opportunities for girls to hold leadership positions while school-aged provides a foundation for influential women leaders who may desire to run for elected office. Parents can play a role here, too, by encouraging both their sons and daughters to be respectful and supportive of peers seeking elected positions and to give attention to the platform of the candidates seeking office rather than forming judgment based on the candidate’s gender. Kelly Pemberton Associate Professor of Religion and Women's Studies in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences at George Washington University Kelly Pemberton What are the biggest financial issues facing women today? Despite the economic progress women have made in the past 2 generations, many women still struggle financially when they are divorced or widowed, or their spouse or partner is unable to work. Most families in urban America need two breadwinners; the loss of one person's income is often financially devastating to women, who disproportionately handle the burden of single parenthood. In the case of divorce, child support may not come on a regular basis, or at all. Minority women (especially black and Latina) are especially hard hit by the double burden of being head of household and single parents. Finally, I would say that many women are still not savvy about advocating for themselves in terms of their earning power, with women in most income brackets earning less than their male counterparts for the same work. What factors, financial or otherwise, should women consider when choosing a city to live in? Cost of living/affordability, cost of child care, and whether a city is family-friendly. Also, women should consider whether or not there is a good job market in that city for the kind of work they do, as there are few jobs these days that employees can count on having for a lifetime. Aside from that, I would say that women should think about the availability of public transportation, and commuting times (as long commutes to and from work and childcare/school are not only frustrating; they're exhausting). One other thing that many women, and their spouses may also want to consider is proximity to their families - not only is it helpful to have families close by to care for children, but when a woman's parents become too old to take care of themselves, she will likely have to commute back and forth to oversee their care, relocate to take care of them, or relocate them to do the same. How can local authorities better meet the needs of female residents? What should a public policy agenda for women include? Local authorities can work to improve affordable childcare options for women, improve opportunities for entrepreneurship (funding and business training opportunities), and help improve women's earning power in the workplace. One effective initiative taking place in Boston is a public-private partnership that is sponsored by the office of the Mayor - facilitating pipelines from educational institutions to the workforce is another option that is being rethought, with gender mainstreaming in mind. Decreasing biases in hiring is another area where local authorities can make a difference: Iris Bohnet's book, “What Works: Gender Equality by Design” contains a number of best practices that have enabled organizations to change their hiring strategies to be less gender-biased. Finally, a public policy agenda for women should include training for law enforcement officials on the proper investigation of sexual assault and domestic violence cases. What strategies have proven effective in encouraging more women to run for elected office? What I have seen among my students is that early exposure to local politics, education about the importance of developing a rapport with local politicians, and about the process of running for office, even at the level of student government, helps to make young people more comfortable with the possibility of running for office. Aside from that, involving people in local initiatives, outreach from local politicians and their employees (maybe through schools and universities), and increasing opportunities for women to interact with their local representatives encourages women to enter the political field. Margaret Brooks Director of the Office of Financial Literacy at Bridgewater State University, and President of the RI Jump$tart Coalition and RI Council for Economic Education Margaret Brooks What are the biggest financial issues facing women today? I believe the biggest financial issues facing women today are gender pay inequality and differential access to financial resources and education. It’s critically important that we move toward an economic system in which women are paid on an equal basis with men for comparable work and are provided with equal access to credit and financial knowledge. Financial equality will empower women to positively impact their families and communities by increasing their purchasing power and enhancing their ability to participate in investment and housing markets. Women will also be in a better financial position to save for large expenses such as starting a business, funding their children’s education, weathering unexpected events, and retirement. What factors, financial or otherwise, should women consider when choosing a city to live in? In general, many factors influence people’s decisions on where to live, including proximity to work and family; quality education and transportation systems; and safe, pleasant living conditions. Women should especially consider living in communities where they have ready access to financial education and resources so that they will have better opportunities to buy homes, start businesses, and build wealth though financial investments. How can local authorities better meet the needs of female residents? What should a public policy agenda for women include? The best public policy agenda for women is one that supports education and workforce training opportunities for women of all ages, and prioritizes programs that build women’s financial knowledge and capability. Only by increasing women’s access to knowledge and resources can the nation’s full potential for economic prosperity be achieved. What strategies have proven effective in encouraging more women to run for elected office? It’s crucial for women to have a voice in matters relating to their economic and financial well-being - in their households, in the workplace, in the schools, and in the voting booth. By actively engaging in community conversations about the economy, education, and finance, women can develop leadership positions in the community and become empowered to take the next step of running for elected office. Ariane Hegewisch Director of the Employment and Earnings Program at the Institute for Women's Policy Research Ariane Hegewisch What are the biggest financial issues facing women today? Financial stresses vary over the life cycle: for young women, financing college can often be a big issue - that includes paying for childcare for the well over a third of women in college who have kids. The wage gap means that working women typically have less money than men (paying off college debt, buying a house with an affordable mortgage or renting in a neighborhood where schools are ok - is the next big issue, if you want to have kids). As women move into their fifties and beyond, having enough to prepare for retirement becomes a big concern. And of course there is an increasing number of women in the sandwich generation - financially still supporting kids or grand kids, as well as supporting care of their parents. What factors, financial or otherwise, should women consider when choosing a city to live in? Finding a job that has good pay and is interesting: that should be the top concern, of course. But beyond this, if you have or are planning to have kids, the quality of schools, whether there is full-day pre-K, full-day kindergarten and good summer provision can make a huge difference - in Washington D.C., close to 100% of 4 year olds are enrolled in school for 6:30 hours a day; in Utah, Indiana, or New Hampshire, fewer than 15% of 4 year olds are enrolled in public pre-school programs. Pre-school is good for kids and it is free childcare for parents. A growing number of states and cities have paid maternity and other family and medical leave laws and make it possible for workers to earn paid sick days - for themselves, or when taking care of their kids. Finally, public transportation; a decent bus or metro system can make life much easier when your kids hit 'soccer parent' age, and can help to get you to work and move around. How can local authorities better meet the needs of female residents? What should a public policy agenda for women include? Germany has a great competition between cities: the government compiles a 'Family Atlas' which rates cities on childcare, early care, parks, sports and after school activities for teens, and the support from employers for employment practices that make it easier to combine employment and family care giving. In the US, the city of Boston has taken the gender wage gap as its metric to judge its progress for making Boston the best city for women to work in - it has a host of initiatives to work with employers to figure out and tackle why women earn less than men in many firms: from scrutinizing their hiring, promotion and salary decisions to better work family supports. Public policy can encourage and provide technical assistance to employers to do their bit and set the basic rules of play - such as pay transparency, a decent minimum wage and paid sick days; other policy require public investment: Pre-K, childcare in college, public transportation, and paid family leave insurance. There are quite a few states and localities right now that passed new statutes in these areas, or are considering initiatives - perhaps at last we are moving towards having a proper work and family infrastructure in the United States. Ӧzlem Altıok Lecturer in International Studies, and Women's and Gender Studies at University of North Texas Ӧzlem Altıok What are the biggest financial issues facing women today? Everybody has some financial issues, so people may wonder why one should even focus on women in particular. Financial issues women face are intimately tied to those faced by men, and the particular challenges women face result from the gendered division of labor, which begins in the home, and extends into the labor markets. The crux of the matter is that women and men do different kinds of work. Some of the very important work that women do, such as unpaid care work, is not even considered “work.” In most societies, including the United States, it is usually women who take care of children, the sick and the elderly. This is vital work for which one does not collect wages. Moreover, women working full time in the United States typically are paid just 79 percent of what men are paid. Women face a pay gap in nearly every occupation, and the gap is worse for women of color, and for mothers. The kinds of jobs and sectors where women are over-represented are typically low-wage jobs. This is about income inequality, but wealth inequality between men and women is even deeper. I am not an expert on this, but Mariko Lin Chang is, and she summarizes the research on wealth inequality between men and women in a fact sheet distributed by Sociologists for Women in Society. According to this, single women are more likely than single men to have the financial burden of custodial parenthood, and that many women lack wealth-building fringe benefits (e.g., retirement plans) because women are more likely to work part-time, and such benefits are denied to part-time workers. Because women tend to be the caregivers in their families, they are more likely than men to leave the labor force, which reduced their earnings and retirement assets. Even with similar credit profiles, women are more likely to receive subprime mortgages than men. There is more I can say about the financial issues facing women today. When there is a financial crisis, and when there are budget cuts to health and education programs, these cuts have gendered consequences. We experienced these cuts in Texas in 2011, and we are still living with their consequences. Here is what we can conclude form these facts. One of the most important financial issues facing working women today is the lack of publicly funded early childhood education and care. I would say that the ever-rising cost of health care in general, and cuts to programs that help low-income women receive preventative care, in particular, pose major financial challenges to women and their families. What factors, financial or otherwise, should women consider when choosing a city to live in? I cannot say what they should consider, but I think many women (and men) do consider whether they will find a well-paying job, affordable childcare, and good public schools. How can local authorities better meet the needs of female residents? What should a public policy agenda for women include? I think we would benefit from including voices that are often excluded, and these include the voices of women, particularly low-income women and women of color. We need more women who care about the needs particularly of low-income working women because doing different kinds of work means experiencing the commute to work, the night shift, the streets, the public school system – everyday life – differently in many ways. Including these perspectives would bring to the table different perspectives on what policy priorities should be. We should make it easier for people in general, but women in particular, to attend and provide input at local policy debates, whether it be environmental regulations, zoning, education policy or economic development. What strategies have proven effective in encouraging more women to run for elected office? It seems to me that the fundamental problem with how anyone gets elected in the United States is the sheer power of money, and the power of corporations in particular, in campaign financing. That is the larger picture we should not lose sight of. Clearly, not many of the strategies out there have been very effective in getting women into office. Women are woefully underrepresented at all levels in politics, and much of that has to do with the gendered division of labor I talked about at the beginning. I will end with this: until we put caring for people at the center of policy debates, and actually value people who do care work, it will not matter much who runs for elected office in this political-economic system. Caroline Light Director of Undergraduate Studies and Lecturer on Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Harvard University Caroline Light What factors, financial or otherwise, should women consider when choosing a city to live in? When a woman chooses where to live, she is more often than not making that choice not only on behalf of herself, but with an eye to the needs of others. Given that historically, women have performed the bulk of our society’s unpaid care labor – including child and elder care, and general domestic maintenance – they are less likely to relocate without considering other people’s needs and expectations, even if a major consideration is the employment opportunities available to them. In an ideal world, women would choose to live where they are paid for equal work, regardless of sex, and where they would enjoy equal benefits (such as health care, retirement, etc). But typically, women are still paid significantly less than men performing the same work. Affordable or subsidized childcare would be a top consideration for women (and men!) who are (or are planning to become) parents. Unfortunately, my home – I live in the Boston area – is among the most expensive in the nation when it comes to childcare. The cost of living in general is especially high, which means it can be very difficult for parents of small children – especially single parents – to make ends meet. Another key consideration is whether a state provides affordable health care options, because all women - all people in fact - require health care. Often, some states that have opposed the adoption of affordable health care programs also resist the non-profit sector’s efforts to fill in that gap for women who can’t afford costly health care. When state elected officials and policy-makers are suspicious of women’s reproductive autonomy, they cut back on state support for organizations like Planned Parenthood, which provide affordable (sometimes free) basic health care to women who need it. There are some states that have deliberately eliminated free/affordable women’s clinics, that used to provide basic services like mammograms, pap smears, and birth control to those who could not afford to purchase these services elsewhere. These states send a message that they are not welcoming to women, except for those able to pay full-cost for their basic health needs. Cost of living is another obvious consideration for women. Is housing readily available, and is it near one’s place of work; sources of healthy, affordable food; and childcare (if needed)? Many women who are underpaid and underemployed struggle to navigate their cities’ geography, where they spend hours commuting from their home to their workplace, because affordable housing is not available near where they work. This is a pressing issue that affects all workers, but especially women, who continue (1) to be paid less than their male counterparts, and (2) to shoulder the primary responsibility for child care. Sydney Davis Richardson Dean of the Martha H. Fleer Center for Adult Education at Salem College Sydney Davis Richardson What are the biggest financial issues facing women today? I would say that the top three are: 1) retirement, 2) building wealth, and 3) caring for family. Retirement: is it still possible or is it just a dream? My age group is the group that was told to go to college, then graduate school, then build a career and family, etc. That mixed with the 2008 recession put us in a fluctuating state. We were either too “old” to compete with the college graduates or too “young” to compete with those older than us who were making career changes or re-entering the workforce because they had to. So the conversation in our circles became, “Are we going to be able to retire or will we have to work forever?” “Can I still chase my dream that may eventually lead to a decent income, or should I go for the job where I can get a paycheck right now?” No one has really answered that question for us and it’s 2016. That, mixed with the fact that some of us are just now starting families, places a huge question mark over the word retirement. Building wealth: What does that look like for women, single mothers, and new parents in their mid-thirties and early forties? Are the rules the same as when our parents were our age or have things changed, and how? Due to blogs, vlogs, and other social media platforms, everyone’s an “expert” so it’s difficult to know whose advice is credible. Caring for family: Those of us in our thirties and forties are at a crucial moment. Some of us are caring for children, some are caring for aging families, and some are caring for both. So the conversations focus on figuring out things such as: How do we achieve our dreams while caring for these other groups? What items on our priority list should be delayed and which ones are most pressing. Childcare, school choices, college, nursing homes vs. parents moving in, are all issues that women deal with and knowing the proper resources and options are needed. What factors, financial or otherwise, should women consider when choosing a city to live in? Factors change based on whether a woman is married, single, has children or has no children. On a basic level, women should consider job prospects and salary growth, cost of living, crime and safety, community engagement, and whether they can see themselves in that city long-term or short-term. How can local authorities better meet the needs of female residents? What should a public policy agenda for women include? I think the best way to meet the needs of anyone is to speak with them, hear what they have to say, and consider their voices when making decisions on the best ways to serve a group. There are cultural challenges to each group, as well as interests and needs varying by age, ability, (dis)ability, relationship status, etc. Knowing as much as one can about those interests and needs, really changes the interaction and effectiveness of all involved. Similar to the answer above, any public policy agenda for women should include the needs, experiences, and voices of women. Women are not homogenous; therefore, policy agendas need to take into consideration the multiple voices and experiences of women at different points in their lives. Women (more than one or two) should also have a seat at the policy-making table. As a result, while there will always be those who disagree, at least better initiatives and regulations concerning the rights of women will be formed. Yvonne A. Braun Associate Professor in the Departments of Women's and Gender Studies, and International Studies at University of Oregon Yvonne A. Braun What are the biggest financial issues facing women today? In the U.S., women are living longer and often outliving partners, if they have one; at the same time that the cost of living is rising, women are more likely to be in low-wage positions, and women still do not have pay parity with men. It should be noted that the rates of pay parity, or equal pay for equal work, are often discussed using national trends and generalized terms, often ignoring the very real differences among women by race, class, education level, geographic location, and so on. In other words, all women suffer from a lack of pay parity, but some women fare worse than others. Women are also much more likely to be poor – true in the U.S. and worldwide – with single mothers, women of color, and elderly women particularly at risk of poverty. Unequal pay, lack of infrastructure and policies to support families and child rearing, and the undervaluing of the work that women do, along with racial and gender discrimination, are certainly part of the underlying causes of these patterns. The cumulative effects make it difficult for women, particularly poor women and women of color, to achieve financial well-being in the present moment let alone to plan effectively for financial security in their later years. What factors, financial or otherwise, should women consider when choosing a city to live in? First, it is important to note that not everyone can choose where they live, mobility certainly remaining a privilege only available to some. That said, when and if women can choose, a few issues come to mind that affect women’s ability to go beyond making ends meet to financial well-being. The issue of pay parity, mentioned above, varies by geographical area and has a very direct effect on women’s standard of living and well-being (and their families’) and their ability to accumulate wealth for longer term financial security. We are seeing some cities and states take the lead on implementing protections like minimum wage laws and benefits like childcare and guaranteed paid sick leave. These are important for all low-wage and part-time workers, but they may be particularly significant for women who tend to be concentrated in low-wage or insecure positions and may be responsible for caring for children or family members. Some states and localities have better records on issues such as pay parity, gender-based violence, racial, ethnic, and gender discrimination, and women’s health rights and access, and these can be real considerations for women’s well-being and quality of life. We also have exciting positive innovations in some cities, like Cities for CEDAW (the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, a comprehensive international women’s rights treaty signed by President Carter in 1980 but never ratified by Congress), whereby local leaders are advancing progressive social policies developed at the global level to push against national intransigence on women’s rights issues. How can local authorities better meet the needs of female residents? What should a public policy agenda for women include? Addressing the gendered and racial dimensions of pay parity is vitally important, as is assuring access to high quality education, and fighting gender-based violence and discrimination. When we improve workplace conditions and pay to be more inclusive and fair, then all workers will benefit, including women as they finally receive equal pay for equal work to the good of their own and their families’ economic security and well-being. When we improve schools and institutions to eradicate gender bias in education, we as a society benefit as women will have greater access to reaching their personal and collective potential. In order for this to happen, we also have to address and take seriously the multiple, complex ways in which gender-based violence and discrimination occurs in our contemporary society. We need to support families and address poverty with social policies, such as paid family leave, worker protections, and social safety nets, and infrastructure, such as subsidized childcare and affordable higher education, to ensure the well-being of all in our society. When empowered in this way, each of us as individuals can do their part towards our shared responsibility to build a good and just society. Inderpal Grewal Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and Professor in the Ethnicity, Race and Migration Studies Program at Yale University Inderpal Grewal What are the biggest financial issues facing women today? Job inequalities, racism in all institutions, reduced social safety net and welfare, too many wars that reduce spending on US infrastructure, predatory and discriminatory lending, redlining, poverty, unequal schools, and low minimum wage. What factors, financial or otherwise, should women consider when choosing a city to live in? Integrated communities, good schools for all children (not just white), social safety nets, not racist policing that will criminalize children, stricter gun laws, access to reproductive health of all kinds, good minimum wage, support for immigrants (documented and non), cities with jobs, arts, and culture for all. What strategies have proven effective in encouraging more women to run for elected office? Not needing money or connections to run —supporting political attention to diverse needs of diverse groups of women (not seeing women as just one monolithic group). Lynn Duggan Associate Professor in the Department of Labor Studies at Indiana University Lynn Duggan What are the biggest financial issues facing women today? Women in the US are facing insurmountable problems in caring for family members. There are several more policy supports than there were in the 1960s, but these are far fewer than in many other countries, particularly high-income countries. Somehow, the era of being “Number One” blinded Americans to our changing status relative to women in the rest of the world. Fortunately, by now we are beginning to realize that the US is one of only four countries in which paid family leave is not required by law, including the US, Swaziland, Lesotho, and Papua New Guinea. The US FMLA law not only does not require leave to be paid but requires unpaid leave for half of our workforce — those who work a certain number of hours at an employer with over 50 employees within a 75 mile radius. Low-paid workers have medical issues and babies too, yet they do not have the savings to be able to take these leaves. In fact, the FMLA does not protect vacations from being used up in the process of an FMLA claim (and vacations are short in the US -- an average of only two weeks, as they are also not required by law, unlike other high-income countries). Increasingly, American women are realizing that, if you can’t afford childcare or a nanny, life with children is too hard. The share of women who become mothers has fallen to below the replacement birth rate and continues to drop as women’s employment grows. Increasingly, low-skilled women are the ones who will take care of children, the elderly and infirm -- either as nannies or healthcare aides or as unpaid mothers and family care providers. What should a public policy agenda for women include? Work-family policies, such as paid leaves of all kinds and flex-time, make it more possible for workers to have a life, including the choice to have a job while being a parent. Germany and the Netherlands give all employees the right to part-time work with benefits. Such policies are helpful to unemployed workers as well, because they redistribute work from those who don’t require a full-time job to those in need of work. In the absence of work-family supports, and in a country as allergic to public assistance as the US, the policy that would most help American women (and men too) nowadays is job creation — because it would increase competition among employers for workers. Total unemployment rates are currently at ten percent, including people working part-time while looking for full-time jobs and those who have given up searching for a job. This bolsters employers’ bargaining power, as they can always find workers willing to accept low job security, wages, and benefits. The result is that working conditions remain low. Guess which workers end up on the bottom? Right: low- to moderately-skilled women with care-giving responsibilities. Tight labor markets forced wages and benefits to rise in the late 1990s, leading to much needed raises in fast-food and the retail industry in particular. This is what is needed now in the wake of our Great Recession with total unemployment rates of ten percent today and union power in decline. But instead, job creation rhetoric has been preempted by austerity budgeting, which has hog-tied economies and workers’ power to negotiate better conditions. Yet Bernie Sanders’ unexpected campaign success shows that a large number of Americans believe government can and should intervene with more vigor. Job creation can not only reduce inequality among women, it can accomplish goals such as infrastructure improvements and laying the groundwork for a green economy, raising sustainability along with economic security and women’s power to negotiate. Women are not stupid, yet we continue to indulge policy-makers’ belief that regulations and government policy make us lazy, when carving out the right to work-life balance is the only way our lives as care-giving people will be livable. It’s time for policy-makers to acknowledge that workers are people who need to get enough sleep, recuperate from jobs, raise children, afford daycare, and sometimes care for aging parents. Stephanie Helms Pickett Director of the Women's Center at Duke University Stephanie Helms Pickett What are the biggest financial issues facing women today? The overarching theme concerning women financially is the fact that women continue to make less money as compared to men, somewhere around 77 cents of the dollar, even when education and experience are mutually similar, with women being the majority in many instances in the workplace. This amount is even more alarming for women of color, with Black women earning about 64 cents, and Latina women earning about 54 cents. When we continue to ignore this looming issue, the impact on the ability for women to take care of themselves and their families is disturbing. The issue permeates through when women are able to retire, which is concerning since many women are in caretaking roles, (be it children or elderly parents) and although ideally would prefer to assume that role in singularity, the actual ability to do so is impeded. Younger women struggle to pay back student loans, building reputable credit and begin living independently. When we fail to pay women their worth, we fail to demonstrate their mattering and value to an institution and/or organization. We perpetuate the myth that they do not possess skills that deem equal compensation. As women mature, not having adequate financial security impacts one's monthly expenses, one's desire for having children, childcare, the ability for children to be engaged outside of the traditional classroom or access; the ability to seek medical services, finding adequate options for work-life integration and planning for the future. What factors, financial or otherwise, should women consider when choosing a city to live in? Women should consider the conception of living in a space that provides the potential to thrive. Is a support system available or even viable? Are there several options for transportation? The cost of living is certainly critical. Are there organizations and opportunities that speak to the mattering of women? Is there richness of diverse experience and diverse people in the city? Safety is a major concern for women everywhere. Probing to determine the relationship with local law enforcement, and bystander intervention certainly create opportunities for women to feel empowered to move through their environment. These are all considerations I personally made. I moved to North Carolina, expecting a child and knew not a soul. The transition was difficult, and it involved me being willing to put myself in situations to meet others and begin to form connections and eventually relationships. That was 22 years ago. How can local authorities better meet the needs of female residents? What should a public policy agenda for women include? The public policy agenda for women must include considerations for pay equity, job access and job training. Women are enrolling and graduating college at higher rates as compared to their male counterparts, but again, making less money and taking longer to receive promotions. Women who are incarcerated are leaving those institutions and faced with seeking viable work that will enable them to care for self and family, and not consider the option of engaging in illegal or detrimental employment for the sake of putting food on the table. Policies are not moving as quick and are not designed with nuance that often couples gender violence and intimate interpersonal violence, placing women and children at risk. Daycare and after school and extended care do not adequately reflect the public school system, and even more, when we consider non tradition work hours that encompass weekend and night schedules. Affordable housing regardless of one's socioeconomic status that is safe, welcoming and communal is not always available - and if it is, it is limiting. Creating opportunities for women to be educated must continually remain paramount in order to create new narratives. What strategies have proven effective in encouraging more women to run for elected office? I would suggest that many women would not consider themselves to fall within the tradition and perhaps even historical underpinnings of a politician. Yet, women are concerned and well versed in issues and daily life that would be useful to consider in a framework of elected office. I have a couple of friends who serve in elected office, and their desire emerged from frustration with policies that were isolating and designed to benefit a small sector of the population. Their frustration fueled into energy and desire to make policies more inclusive, thoughtful, progressive and such that everyone, whether historically denied, or selfishly opting out, have a voice at the table. In our core, women think holistically, which undoubtedly has the potential to have far reaching consequences, in often thoughtful and positive methods. It would be helpful for organizations to reach out to individuals who possess good ideas and perhaps need to better understand the political process to be encouraged to amplify their voice on a larger scale. Small gatherings, one on one interactions, perhaps funneling the techniques that search firms use to circle in on potential for elected office could prove useful in enlarging the pool. Catherine Cerulli Director of the Susan B. Anthony Center for Women's Leadership at University of Rochester Medical Center Catherine Cerulli What are the biggest financial issues facing women today? It depends on the woman – for some – she is struggling to make ends meet. Being paid less on the dollar than a man, and having lower overall compensation packages that include things like expense accounts, travel dollars, living supplements, cost of living adjustments, and administrative resources, results in less promotability. Additionally, the lower rate of pay, results in lower retirement accounts, and thus more difficulty in later years. In interviews with older women who were stay-at-home moms, they don’t build pensions, retirement, and their social security tends to be minimal. When their husbands die, they receive some of his social security, but lose their own – thus resulting in a dramatic decrease in income. Additionally, their husbands pensions and retirement accounts will also be distributed upon death depending on decisions made earlier, which might include a first wife, if there was one, or living children, further hindering the widower’s source of income. For women who are in lower income brackets, these are not necessarily issues they face if they don’t have a spouse or supportive partner. They are struggling to make ends meet each day – with government subsidies offering more support than a full-time job with low wages. Thus, moving from welfare to work is a difficult transition – as the only industrial nation in the world that doesn’t offer subsidized daycare. We continue to pay fields that are predominantly women less: teachers, daycare workers, homemakers, etc. What factors, financial or otherwise, should women consider when choosing a city to live in? The cost of living might include things like transportation, parking, insurance for rentals, housing or cars, access to health care, and for senior women, senior services such as assisted living, memory care and nursing home care. These are things that women consider. However, they might also consider safety – how safe are the streets in which they are living. How can local authorities better meet the needs of female residents? What should a public policy agenda for women include? Local authorities might include residents such as Wilson Commencement in Rochester, New York where women in transition can live with their children and have support right on the campus for childcare and other issues. Some government entities have required transparency in the bidding process for contracts, requiring bidders to reveal their hiring and compensation packages relative to women. What strategies have proven effective in encouraging more women to run for elected office? It is clear from the current campaign that it takes money to run for office – clearly – given the statements above – and by evidence provided from national think tanks – women are much more likely to be struggling with the day-to-day than having surplus. Additionally, despite having the right to vote for almost 100 years (effective 2020 nationally), we continue to see far fewer women on the congressional and senate floor, thus providing young women aspiring politicians with role models or mentors. In industries which have been 50% women in the scholastic environment, such as medical schools, but remain behind in leadership, professional organizations have taken it upon themselves to offer leadership training. Such programs are proving effective in growing inspirational groups of women. Gill Wright Miller Professor and Chair of Women's and Gender Studies at Denison University Gill Wright Miller What are the biggest financial issues facing women today? There are immediate and long-term issues facing women in the US economy. In general, the US Department of Agriculture says it costs a minimum of $250,000 to raise a child from birth to 18. The US Census Bureau confirms 80.6% of all single parents are women. Nearly half of the 17.4 million children under 18 living with a single parent are living under the poverty line. So women carry the bulk of the responsibility for raising our children yet earn only $.70-$.80 to the dollar compared to men in the same jobs. Since, statistically, women earn less and live longer than men, the outlook for financial recovery from that uneven responsibility is, at best, difficult. And saving for retirement is nearly impossible for many women. What factors, financial or otherwise, should women consider when choosing a city to live in? Ideally, we should all consider living locations that hold potential for the various kinds of support that will sustain us both physically and emotionally. For some women, this means choosing a city that is close to other family members; for others, it means choosing a city that has an abundance of professional mentors in areas of career interests; for still others, it means choosing a city that can provide continual aesthetic stimulation or a sense of “pace” (e.g., the city moves more quickly; the country moves more slowly) that resonates with the women’s own internal wiring. So the factor most important in selecting a city is knowing one’s self well enough to seek a complementary environment. Needless to say, this may also mean changing environments as one grows, shifts, ages. (What worked when one was younger does not necessarily resonate when one is older.) So a second factor is resilience. How can local authorities better meet the needs of female residents? What should a public policy agenda for women include? Public policy agendas ought to be applied equally to all citizens, but the reality is that women carry more than half of the burden for various responsibilities in the community. Consequently, policies need to include family and medical leave acts applied equally across wage and salaried positions, affordable housing acts pro-rated for single-income families earning low or less than living wages, wage equalization acts including reconsideration of comparable worth ideas, and protection against sex, gender, and age discrimination against women. What strategies have proven effective in encouraging more women to run for elected office? We need to address both individual and public strategies to encourage women in formal positions. Individually, women themselves need to practice reading broadly and listening deeply and to train in translating personal and witnessed experience into language for public consumption. Often women have access to subjective knowledge that shades policies toward vital nuances and empathy, and these qualities are fundamentally necessary in a litigious culture that tends to privilege rights over responsibilities. Publically, we must provide women with full access to formal education — including the support systems like finances, transportation, childcare, and quiet space — that will encourage them to participate. Equally, we need to eradicate media discrimination that equates, for example, the appearance of a candidate over her vision and message. Further we need to recognize and identify women in leadership positions in their current locations, whether that is organizing a neighborhood or advocating for a sick parent. At Denison, where I teach, we believe in weaving the “civic” throughout the student’s four years in various ways (including student organizations and student government, but also in the more simple everyday acts of learning to work with roommates, select among courses, and negotiate for funding for their interests). We have 170 student organizations, the majority of which are headed by women. We also have an “Elect Her” initiative. And both our liberal arts message and our curriculum encourage identifying transferable skills, so that all of our students understand they are prepared for these “elected office” challenges. We have, as our President Adam Weinberg names it, “a commitment to establishing civic agency.” And we celebrate that agency wildly in our women students. Ann Oberhauser Professor of Sociology and Director of Women's and Gender Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University Ann Oberhauser What factors, financial or otherwise, should women consider when choosing a city to live in? Depending on their age, race, sexual orientation, and socio-economic class, women have different needs when it comes to financial issues. I would say that some of the biggest of these are:
  1. Retirement savings – women often start later and have lower contributions to retirement programs than men. They often move in and out of the workforce to raise children, therefore don’t have steady and high contributions to pension funds or savings accounts.
  2. Education and student loans are also big issues for women. As education becomes increasingly important to advance one’s career, and more women are getting higher degrees, they face large student loans and education costs.
  3. The wage gap is also a big financial issue to women. They tend to have lower wages than men, even if the jobs are equivalent, therefore, they have disadvantages when it comes to pay.
Factors in choosing a city to live in:
  1. Cost of living – women tend to make lower incomes and live longer than men, therefore consider cost of living in cities.
  2. Social services such as health care and child care services are important for women to consider in cities where they live.
How can local authorities better meet the needs of female residents? What should a public policy agenda for women include?
  1. Education at all levels is great concern for women and should be a strong focus for public policy makers.
  2. Affordable child care is another public policy concern in order to meet female residents’ needs. Women tend to have greater responsibility for child care, thus will need this support.
  3. Public transportation is important to women who depend on this means of transportation to get to work, etc.
  4. Safety issues are of concern to women and should be carefully studied and provided so women are safe in their homes and communities.
What strategies have proven effective in encouraging more women to run for elected office?
  1. Mentoring women to take leadership roles and providing the support to educate and train women in policy issues.
  2. Organizations such as the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), Emily’s List, and National Organization for Women (NOW) have been instrumental in getting women to run for office.

Methodology Women’s Economic & Social Well-Being – Total Points: 60
  • Median Earnings for Female Workers: Full Weight (~5.45 Points)Note: This metric was adjusted for the cost of living.
  • Unemployment Rate for Women: Full Weight (~5.45 Points)
  • Share of Women Living in Poverty: Full Weight (~5.45 Points)
  • Unaffordability of Doctor’s Visit: Full Weight (~5.45 Points)Note: This metric measures the percentage of women who could not afford to see a doctor in the past year due to costs.
  • Share of Women-Owned Businesses: Full Weight (~5.45 Points)
  • High School Dropout Rate for Women: Full Weight (~5.45 Points)
  • Friendliness Toward Working Moms: Double Weight (~10.91 Points)Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s Best & Worst States for Working Moms ranking.
  • Friendliness Toward Women’s Equality: Double Weight (~10.91 Points)Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s Best & Worst States for Women's Equality ranking.
  • Share of Women Who Voted in the 2012 Presidential Election: Full Weight (~5.45 Points)Note: At the time of this analysis, 2012 was the year of the most recent available presidential-election voting data. This metric was calculated as follows: Number of Women Who Voted in 2012 Presidential Election / Total Female U.S. Citizen Population in State.
Women’s Health Care & Safety – Total Points: 40
  • Quality of Women’s Hospitals: Full Weight (~3.64 Points)Note: This metric is based on U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals for Gynecology ranking.
  • Female Uninsured Rate: Full Weight (~3.64 Points)Note: This metric accounts for all ages.
  • Share of Women with Good or Better Health: Full Weight (~3.64 Points)Note: This metric is based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System (CDC – BRFSS).
  • Women’s Preventive Health Care: Full Weight (~3.64 Points)Note: This metric measures the percentage of women who were up-to-date on cervical and breast-cancer screenings.
  • Share of Physically Active Women: Full Weight (~3.64 Points)
  • Baby-Friendliness: Double Weight (~7.27 Points)Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s Best & Worst States to Have a Baby ranking.
  • Women’s Life Expectancy at Birth: Full Weight (~3.64 Points)
  • Female Homicide Rate: Full Weight (~3.64 Points)Note: This metric measures the number of females murdered by males (per 100,000 female residents) and accounts for all ages.
  • Prevalence of Rape Victimization Among Females: Full Weight (~3.64 Points)Note: This metric measures instances of rape. According to the U.S Bureau of Justice Statistics, 91 percent of rape victims are female and 9 percent are male.
  • Prevalence of Stalking Victimization Among Women: Full Weight (~3.64 Points)

 

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Educational Statistics, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Violence Policy Center, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Council for Community and Economic Research, U.S. News & World Report, Measure of America and WalletHub research.



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