Texas Is 2021’s 3rd worst state for Women’s Equality

Reprinted with permission from WalletHub

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 2021, the U.S. failed to place in the top 10 — or even the top 25 — of the World Economic Forum’s ranking of 156 countries based on gender equality. The U.S. ranked 30th, which is better than last year’s rank of 53rd.

The workplace provides even more evidence of inequality. 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 27% of legislators and 25 percent of Fortune 500 board seats.

Women also faced inequality during the COVID-19 pandemic. Women were initially laid off at a greater rate than men and re-employed more slowly. Luckily, the gap has begun to close – for example, more than half of job gains in May went to women, and the June unemployment rate for women was 5.5%, compared to 5.9% for men.

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	Education & Health	Political Empowerment
1	Nevada	77.55	3	9	1
2	Hawaii	69.36	1	3	28
3	Vermont	68.67	2	5	22
4	Maine	67.72	12	27	2
5	New York	67.20	20	12	7
6	California	67.01	6	26	8
7	Iowa	65.99	15	11	12
8	West Virginia	65.88	9	1	26
9	Michigan	65.29	29	19	3
10	Massachusetts	64.66	32	14	9
11	Minnesota	64.60	11	36	5
12	Washington	64.06	16	35	4
13	New Mexico	63.85	7	16	16
14	Wisconsin	62.37	30	7	14
15	Delaware	60.91	17	18	19
16	Arizona	60.61	26	41	6
17	Tennessee	59.88	19	4	31
18	Maryland	59.84	4	13	41
19	Florida	59.75	14	25	17
20	Kentucky	59.29	21	2	43
21	Connecticut	59.25	24	15	21
22	Illinois	58.84	37	30	10
23	Rhode Island	58.27	35	8	27
24	Oregon	57.89	13	39	15
25	Alaska	56.82	5	45	20
26	Wyoming	56.71	40	31	13
27	Nebraska	56.32	8	33	30
28	Montana	55.33	22	34	29
29	Mississippi	55.13	31	29	24
30	North Carolina	55.02	23	21	33
31	Colorado	54.38	10	46	18
32	New Hampshire	54.01	36	44	11
33	Pennsylvania	53.33	42	10	38
34	North Dakota	52.09	33	23	47
35	South Dakota	51.76	39	23	39
36	New Jersey	51.60	50	17	23
37	Arkansas	51.49	18	32	44
38	Ohio	50.60	28	28	46
39	Missouri	50.05	45	22	35
40	Indiana	49.27	47	37	25
41	Louisiana	48.89	49	6	50
42	Virginia	48.04	34	40	40
43	Oklahoma	47.70	38	43	36
44	Alabama	47.01	48	20	48
45	Georgia	46.93	43	38	37
46	Kansas	46.77	27	47	32
47	South Carolina	43.77	46	42	45
48	Texas	41.95	25	48	42
49	Idaho	37.37	41	49	34
50	Utah	29.85	44	50	49

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.