For Women’s History Month, personal finance website WalletHub sought to identify the most- and least-friendly states for women.
What makes for a women-friendly state?
"The wage gap, the education gap, the health gap, the political representation gap between men and women in a state. The smaller the gap, the better a state for all," Elizabeth Smith, professor and chair of the Department of Politics and International Affairs at Furman University, said in a statement about the survey.
The study looked at all 50 states and the District of Columbia, ranking two areas: women’s economic and social well-being and women’s health and safety.
Twenty-three key indicators of living standards for women were looked at, including median earnings for female workers, unemployment rate, share of women living in poverty, women’s preventative health care and rates for female uninsured and homicide.
Taking the top spot for the best state is Minnesota. It scored high on median earnings for women, graduation rate and life expectancy at birth and low on percent living in poverty and uninsured. The full list:
1. Minnesota
2. Massachusetts
3. Vermont
4. North Dakota
5. Wisconsin
6. Maine
7. Hawaii
8. Connecticut
9. Iowa
10. New Hampshire
On the other end of the scale, WalletHub named Louisiana as the worst state for women. It scored high on percent of women in poverty and female homicide rate and low on women’s life expectancy at birth.
The list of worst states:
1. Louisiana
2. Arkansas
3. Mississippi
4. Oklahoma
5. Alabama
6. South Carolina
7. West Virginia
8. Nevada
9 Georgia
10. Texas
Source: WalletHub
Other interesting findings, according to WalletHub's research:
• Alaska had the highest percent of women-owned businesses (23%) and South Dakota the lowest (14%).
• Mississippi was last for women’s life expectancy at birth and women in poverty.
• Blue states, based on how they voted in the 2016 presidential election, were rated more friendly than red states.
What can bring about change to the areas that are deemed less friendly? More women running for elected office.
"The states where women fare less well also tend to have lower rates of representation of women in political offices," Smith told WalletHub.
"The strong message that all women have to fight every day, in every way to ensure a more equal world for themselves and their children is, I think, making more women take the plunge," and run for office, Mary Godwyn, professor of sociology in the History and Society Division at Babson College said in a statement.
