Working women are apparently best off in the Northeast. This fact and Massachusetts’ ranking as the best state for workplace gender equality was reported this week by The Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

The new data shows that only Washington D.C. beats the Bay State when it comes to gender-equal career opportunities and earnings. Results are based on four key metrics: median annual earnings, earnings ratio between men and women, the percentage of women who work, and percent of women in managerial or professional positions. Each state is then assigned a letter grade.

The institute reported that six of the nation’s top 10 contenders are in the Northeast while “more than half of the fourteen states receiving the lowest grades are in the South.’’


“States across the nation vary considerably in their progress toward women’s employment and earnings equity,’’ the report stated. “IWPR will release a new comprehensive report on The Status of Women in the States in 2015.’’

But it seems there’s room for improvement. Washington D.C. was the only state to receive a rating in the ‘A’ range, and Massachusetts only received a ‘B+’ rating. The bottom 10 states were all in the ‘D’ and ‘F’ range.

The lowest ranked state for workplace gender equality was West Virginia, which was followed by Alabama, Arkansas, and Louisiana. The United States overall received a C+ average.