, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Best & Worst States for Women’s Equality in 2024 – WalletHub Study

August 19, 2024

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. In 2024, the U.S. only ranked 43rd on the World Economic Forum’s ranking of 146 countries based on gender equality.

The workplace provides even more evidence of inequality. Despite advances toward social equality, women are disproportionately underrepresented in leadership positions. Women make up more than 50% of the population, but constitute only around 28% of legislators and 9% of S&P 500 CEOs.

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.

Best States for Women’s Rights

Overall Rank  State Total Score  Workplace Environment Rank  Education & Health Rank  Political Empowerment Rank 
1 Hawaii 79.24 4 1 2
2 California 71.50 5 18 6
3 Minnesota 68.43 6 35 5
4 Maine 67.95 18 23 1
5 New Mexico 67.77 8 20 13
6 New York 67.66 15 13 11
7 Oregon 66.61 2 38 15
8 Massachusetts 65.99 24 15 10
9 Rhode Island 65.65 1 9 36
10 Maryland 65.62 10 5 25
11 Delaware 65.52 3 26 21
12 Colorado 65.05 7 31 16
13 Arizona 64.80 12 36 9
14 Washington 64.41 11 41 7
15 Alaska 64.19 14 39 4
16 West Virginia 64.17 35 2 20
17 Vermont 63.69 13 16 23
18 Iowa 62.77 22 28 14
19 Illinois 61.74 29 30 12
20 Michigan 61.44 39 40 3
21 Kentucky 60.58 16 3 44
22 Wisconsin 60.05 31 32 18
23 New Jersey 59.73 28 11 26
24 Nebraska 59.51 9 27 28
25 Tennessee 58.54 30 8 34
26 New Hampshire 58.29 47 17 17
27 South Dakota 57.73 27 14 37
28 Florida 57.33 20 37 22
29 Connecticut 57.05 42 19 24
30 South Carolina 56.41 25 7 50
31 Montana 56.24 21 21 35
32 Ohio 55.46 37 6 47
33 North Carolina 55.21 26 25 31
34 Kansas 55.17 19 34 32
35 Virginia 54.97 34 29 27
36 Nevada 54.94 17 48 8
37 Arkansas 54.42 36 10 49
38 Pennsylvania 53.24 41 33 30
39 Louisiana 52.87 48 4 43
40 Mississippi 52.73 46 12 33
41 Indiana 52.61 40 22 38
42 Alabama 51.68 45 24 29
43 North Dakota 49.25 33 46 39
44 Oklahoma 49.08 32 42 46
45 Georgia 47.81 38 43 42
46 Missouri 45.58 43 45 48
47 Idaho 45.24 44 44 45
48 Wyoming 44.86 49 47 19
49 Texas 39.75 23 49 40
50 Utah 23.04 50 50 41

Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE