Posted by: Richie Bernardo

Women’s rights in the U.S. have made leaps and bounds since the passage of the 19th Amendment. Yet many women still struggle to break the glass ceiling because of unequal treatment in society. Unfortunately, the gender gap in 21st century America has only expanded. In 2017, the U.S. failed to place in the top 10 — or even the top 40 — of the World Economic Forum’s ranking of 144 countries based on gender equality. In fact, the U.S. dropped to 49th position from its previous rank 45th.

The workplace provides even more evidence of the issue. Despite their advances toward social equality, women are disproportionately underrepresented in leadership positions. Women make up more than 50% of the population. According to the American Association of University Women, women only constitute 25% of legislators and less than 29% of business executives.

Apart from unequal representation in executive leadership, salary inequity has been central to the gender-gap debate. Few experts dispute an earnings gap between women and men, but there’s disagreement when it comes to the proper method of measuring that disparity. The fact remains, however, that nearly two-thirds of minimum-wage workers across the country are female, according to the National Women’s Law Center. Unfortunately, women are underrepresented in government, which makes changing laws relating to their condition more difficult.

To determine where women receive the most equal treatment, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 16 key indicators of gender equality. Our data set ranges from the gap between female and male executives to the disparity in unemployment rates for women and men. Read on for our findings, expert commentary and a full description of our methodology.

1. Main Findings
2. Ask the Experts
3. Methodology
4. Videos for News Use

Main Findings Embed on your website<iframe src="//d2e70e9yced57e.cloudfront.net/wallethub/embed/5835/geochart-women.html" width="556" height="347" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> <div style="width:556px;font-size:12px;color:#888;">Source: <a href="https://ift.tt/2nWmzbq>

 

Best States for Women’s Rights

Overall Rank (1 = Best)	State	Total Score	‘Workplace Environment’ Rank	‘Education & Health’ Rank	‘Political Empowerment’ Rank
1	New York	68.66	9	12	2
2	Minnesota	67.07	4	21	5
3	Maine	64.78	24	15	7
4	Nevada	64.33	34	25	1
5	Hawaii	62.85	26	6	13
6	Delaware	62.37	32	4	12
7	Alaska	62.27	2	28	11
8	North Dakota	62.21	31	8	9
9	Washington	61.69	10	41	3
10	New Mexico	61.65	1	7	25
11	Massachusetts	59.83	49	10	6
12	West Virginia	58.79	16	1	29
13	Illinois	58.49	35	37	4
14	Iowa	58.20	13	19	17
15	California	58.11	29	22	10
16	Wisconsin	57.31	20	20	18
17	Rhode Island	57.18	11	5	28
18	Vermont	57.18	40	2	27
19	Connecticut	55.90	44	24	8
20	Indiana	55.06	22	26	20
21	New Jersey	54.86	33	16	19
22	Michigan	53.96	42	27	16
23	Colorado	53.30	47	9	21
24	Ohio	52.62	27	3	36
25	Montana	51.88	28	14	38
26	Oregon	51.73	5	39	22
27	Nebraska	51.19	3	43	24
28	Kentucky	49.52	18	23	34
29	Pennsylvania	49.52	21	13	39
30	Wyoming	49.46	12	35	30
31	Maryland	49.43	6	18	45
32	New Hampshire	48.41	48	38	14
33	Missouri	48.20	43	44	15
34	Mississippi	47.99	30	34	26
35	Tennessee	47.73	17	17	48
36	North Carolina	46.95	23	33	32
37	South Dakota	44.29	50	11	42
38	Alabama	43.83	36	32	33
39	Kansas	43.79	15	42	35
40	Georgia	42.43	14	40	44
41	Oklahoma	42.37	46	29	37
42	Florida	42.15	7	47	31
43	Arkansas	41.77	39	31	40
44	Louisiana	41.10	25	30	50
45	South Carolina	40.68	19	36	49
46	Virginia	40.45	8	46	46
47	Arizona	38.76	41	48	23
48	Texas	36.89	37	45	47
49	Idaho	30.51	38	49	41
50	Utah	25.51	45	50	43

Ask the Experts

As the U.S. slips further down the WEC’s Global Gender Gap Index, we asked a panel of experts to shed light on the reasons behind the country’s disappointing performance in closing its gender gap. Click on the experts’ profiles to read their bios and responses to the following key questions:

1. The U.S. currently ranks 82nd globally when it comes to the gender gap in health and survival. What is driving this? What should be done to close this gap?
2. The U.S. currently ranks 96th globally when it comes to the gender gap in political empowerment. Are there strategies the U.S. can learn from other countries to help close this gap?
3. What policies would be most effective in closing the gender pay gap?
4. What policies would prove effective at increasing female representation in senior management roles in the Fortune 500 and other large, multinational corporations?

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• Amy H. Shapiro Ph.D, Professor of Philosophy and Humanities, Program Director, Philosophy, Program co- Director, Women’s and Gender Studies, Alverno College
• Rand W. Ressler Ph.D., Associate Dean, College of Business, Georgia Southern University
• Lisa Jepsen Associate Dean, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Northern Iowa

Methodology

To determine where women receive the most equal treatment in the U.S., WalletHub compared the 50 states across three key dimensions: 1) Workplace Environment, 2) Education & Health and 3) Political Empowerment.

We evaluated those dimensions using 16 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for women’s equality. For all metrics, we compared the differences between women and men. In certain states and for certain metrics where women showed an advantage over men, we treated the state as having gender equality.

Finally, we determined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

Workplace Environment – Total Points: 33.33

• Income Disparity: Full Weight (~3.92 Points)Note: “Income” refers to median weekly earnings.
• Higher-Income Disparity: Full Weight (~3.92 Points)Note: “Higher Income” refers to median annual earnings of $100,000 or more.
• Disparity in Share of Executive Positions: Full Weight (~3.92 Points)
• Disparity in Share of Minimum-Wage Workers: Full Weight (~3.92 Points)
• Unemployment-Rate Disparity: Half Weight (~1.96 Points)
• Entrepreneurship-Rate Disparity: Full Weight (~3.92 Points)
• Disparity in Average Number of Work Hours: Half Weight (~1.96 Points)Note: “Average Number of Work Hours” pertains to full-time workers.
• Job Security Disparity: Double Weight (~7.84 Points)
• Disparity in Poverty Rate: Half Weight (~1.96 Points)

Education & Health – Total Points: 33.33

• Disparity in Advanced Educational Attainment: Full Weight (~11.11 Points)Note: “Advanced Educational Attainment” refers to the percentage of the population aged 25 and older with an advanced degree (higher than a bachelor’s degree).
• Disparity in Math Test Scores: Full Weight (~11.11 Points)
• Disparity in Doctor-Visit Affordability: Full Weight (~11.11 Points)Note: This metric measures the percentage of adults who could not afford a doctor’s visit in the past year due to costs.

Political Empowerment – Total Points: 33.33

• Disparity in Share of Lawmakers in U.S. Senate: Full Weight (~8.33 Points)
• Disparity in Share of Lawmakers in U.S. House of Representatives: Full Weight (~8.33 Points)
• Disparity in Share of Lawmakers in State Legislature: Full Weight (~8.33 Points)
• Disparity in Share of State-Elected Executives: Full Weight (~8.33 Points)

 

Videos for News Use:

• YouTube (for web embedding National)
• YouTube (for web embedding New York State)
• Raw files (for editing into clips)

 

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, National Women's Law Center, National Center for Educational Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Center for American Women and Politics.

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