The 5 worst states for gender equality — and the 5 best

Wyoming ranked in the bottom five states for workplace environment and education and health, finishing 49th and 47th, respectively.

WalletHub reported that the state, which is nicknamed “The Equality State,” actually had the third-largest income gap in the country.

Per the BLS, women in Wyoming earned 75.6% of what men made in 2022, with median weekly earnings totaling $869 and $1,150, respectively.

The National Women’s Law Center also reported that 12.3% of women in the state live in poverty, which is 0.5% higher than the national figure.

It fared much better in political empowerment, ranking 19th among all states. Two of its three congressional seats are occupied by women.

Utah is the worst-ranked state for gender equality with last-place finishes for both workplace environment and education and health, according to WalletHub’s report. The state also ranked in the bottom 10 for political empowerment.

The “Beehive State” had the largest income gap according to WalletHub, with the BLS reporting that women made 73.1% of what men made in 2022, as their median weekly earnings totaled $884 and $1,210, respectively.

Utah also had the largest advanced educational attainment gap; the US Census Bureau’s 2022 ACS five-year estimates reported that 14.5% of men 25 and older had received a graduate or professional degree compared to just 10% of women 25 and older.

Finally, the state only has one woman filling its six available seats in Congress, and fewer than 30% of people in its state legislature are women.

Maine was the No. 1 ranked state in the country for political empowerment.

Half of the state’s seats in Congress belong to women, and women compose 42.5% of the state legislature. Maine’s only statewide executive, the governor, is also a woman, Janet T. Mills.

Maine is also one of four states where more women have received an advanced education than men. The Census’s 2022 ACS five-year estimates reported that 14.1% of women 25 and older had received a graduate or professional degree compared to 11.4% of men 25 and older.

California is the No. 2 state for gender equality in the US, with a top-five ranking for workplace environment, a top-10 ranking for political empowerment, and a top-20 ranking for education and health.

California has the seventh-smallest income gap in the country, with women earning 86.8% of what men do — $1,062 in median weekly earnings compared to $1,223.

The “Golden State” also has one of the smallest advanced educational attainment gaps, with 13.8% of women 25 and older earning graduate or professional degrees compared to 13.7% of men 25 and older, according to the Census’s 2022 ACS five-year estimates.

WalletHub also reported that California has a particularly low gender disparity among higher-income earners, as “only 8.1% more men achieve salaries of $100K+ than women.” (Vermont is the only state where this gap is lower).

One-third of California’s seats in Congress belong to women, as well as more than 40% of its state legislature and 50% of its statewide elective executives.

The “Aloha State” earned top-5 rankings in every category, with a No. 1 ranking in education and health.

According to the Nation’s Report Card, grade-four boys only scored three points higher than grade-four girls in math, and by eighth grade, there was no difference in scores. Women were also more likely to receive graduate or professional degrees, with 13.1% of women 25 and older earning advanced degrees compared to 11.9% of men 25 and older.

Hawaii also ranked second for political empowerment, with 50% of its seats in Congress belonging to women, as well as 50% of statewide elective executives, and more than a third of seats in the state legislature.

Finally, WalletHub reported that there is no gap in the rate of men and women working minimum-wage jobs, and the gaps in unemployment and job security are less than 1%.