Adam McCann, Financial Writer

Aug 24, 2020

While racial inequality has been in the spotlight during 2020, it’s important to make sure we don’t overlook gender inequality. 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 2020, the U.S. failed to place in the top 10 — or even the top 50 — of the World Economic Forum’s ranking of 153 countries based on gender equality. In fact, the U.S. dropped to 53rd position from its previous rank of 51st.

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 percent of the population, but constitute only around 24 percent of legislators and 25 percent of Fortune 500 board seats.

This year, women also face inequality when it comes to unemployment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Women have been laid off at a greater rate than men, and are also getting re-employed more slowly. In addition, the share of the workforce that is female is now at its lowest point since 2008.

To determine where women receive the most equal treatment, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 17 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.

Main Findings

Best States for Women’s Rights

Overall Rank

(1 = Best) State Total Score ‘Workplace Environment’ Rank ‘Education & Health’ Rank ‘Political Empowerment’ Rank 1 Hawaii 75.13 4 1 12 2 Maine 71.53 2 21 2 3 Nevada 70.93 1 44 1 4 New Mexico 68.13 5 8 14 5 Arizona 67.87 8 15 5 6 Massachusetts 65.99 25 9 6 7 New York 65.86 15 14 7 8 Vermont 65.26 7 6 31 9 Minnesota 65.08 9 23 8 10 California 65.07 3 30 10 11 West Virginia 64.60 29 1 24 12 Michigan 63.98 21 26 4 13 Iowa 63.70 33 10 9 14 Oregon 62.58 6 25 16 15 Delaware 62.49 12 11 19 16 Washington 61.33 38 32 3 17 Kentucky 60.50 10 3 45 18 Illinois 59.64 27 24 13 19 New Hampshire 58.36 43 27 11 20 Maryland 58.06 17 5 42 21 Wisconsin 57.82 32 22 17 22 Montana 57.69 13 13 39 23 New Jersey 56.80 37 16 21 24 Alaska 55.20 11 45 15 25 Pennsylvania 54.64 31 7 44 26 North Dakota 54.02 42 12 43 27 Florida 53.90 16 43 18 28 Connecticut 53.44 40 28 22 29 Indiana 53.41 39 29 23 30 Missouri 52.98 29 18 36 31 Colorado 52.88 20 42 20 32 Nebraska 51.73 24 37 26 33 Rhode Island 51.29 50 4 28 34 North Carolina 50.88 18 34 35 35 Georgia 50.78 41 38 25 36 Oklahoma 50.34 45 17 33 37 Tennessee 50.08 35 36 32 38 South Dakota 49.91 23 39 41 39 Arkansas 49.04 14 41 40 40 South Carolina 48.58 26 31 48 41 Virginia 48.32 36 35 38 42 Ohio 47.74 34 33 47 43 Kansas 47.64 19 47 29 44 Mississippi 46.59 44 40 27 45 Alabama 45.75 48 20 37 46 Louisiana 42.80 49 19 50 47 Texas 42.72 22 48 46 48 Wyoming 42.37 46 46 34 49 Idaho 39.52 28 49 30 50 Utah 25.74 47 50 49

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:

The U.S. currently ranks 70th globally when it comes to the gender gap in health and survival. What is driving this? What should be done to close this gap? The U.S. currently ranks 86th 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? What policies would be most effective in closing the gender pay gap? What policies would prove effective at increasing female representation in senior management roles in the Fortune 500 and other large, multinational corporations?

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 17 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: 40.00

Income Disparity: Triple Weight (~12.63 Points)

Note: “Income” refers to median weekly earnings.

Higher-Income Disparity: Full Weight (~4.21 Points)

Note: “Higher Income” refers to median annual earnings of $100,000 or more.

Disparity in Share of Executive Positions: Full Weight (~4.21 Points)

Disparity in Share of Minimum-Wage Workers: Half Weight (~2.11 Points)

Unemployment-Rate Disparity: Full Weight (~4.21 Points)

Entrepreneurship-Rate Disparity: Full Weight (~4.21 Points)

Disparity in Average Number of Work Hours: Half Weight (~2.11 Points)

Note: “Average Number of Work Hours” pertains to full-time workers.

Job Security Disparity: Half Weight (~2.11 Points)

Economic Security Disparity: Half Weight (~2.11 Points)

Note: This metric is based on the Basic Economic Security Tables (BEST) Index, which measures how much income working adults of different family types need to be economically secure. Economic security means having “enough income to meet basic monthly expenses—such as housing, food, transportation and child care expenses—and save for emergencies and retirement.”

Disparity in Poverty Rate: Half Weight (~2.11 Points)

Education & Health – Total Points: 40.00

Disparity in Advanced Educational Attainment: Full Weight (~13.33 Points)

Note: “Advanced Educational Attainment” refers to the share of the population aged 25 years and older with an advanced degree (higher than a bachelor’s degree).

Disparity in Math Test Scores: Full Weight (~13.33 Points)

Disparity in Doctor-Visit Affordability: Full Weight (~13.33 Points)

Note: This metric measures the share of adults who could not afford a doctor’s visit in the past year due to costs.

Political Empowerment – Total Points: 20.00

Disparity in Share of Lawmakers in U.S. Senate: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)

Disparity in Share of Lawmakers in U.S. House of Representatives: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)

Disparity in Share of Lawmakers in State Legislature: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)

Disparity in Share of State-Elected Executives: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)

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, Institute for Women's Policy Research, National Center for Education Statistics, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and Center for American Women and Politics.

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