MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — Alabama is one of the worst states for women, according to zippa.com. Economists say location really does make a big difference in a woman’s quality of life. While times are changing, women in the United States still face challenges their male counterparts don’t, from discrimination to slimmer paychecks and a disproportionate share of household tasks.
The “10 worst states to be a woman” have the least economic opportunity for and greatest financial disparity between the sexes. Three rust bowl states made the list, showing the area as a whole may be less than kind to women. Overall, however, the top 10 is a fairly diverse list representing many regions.
To determine the “worst states for women,” economists ranked each state in four categories:
- Percentage Of Women CEOs (Lower is worse)
- Percentage Of Women In Poverty (Higher is worse)
- Income Gap Between Male And Female Earners (Higher is worse)
- Life Expectancy (Lower is worse)
Alabama is the 10th worst state to be a woman, according to the study. While Alabama may have a higher than average female CEO percentage (30%), that doesn’t seem to lift up the high percentage of impoverished women in this southern state.
To calculate the income gap between women and men by state, the Census’ American Community Survey was used. They divided the median female income by the median male income, subtracting the total from 100 to get the difference in all-male earners and all-female earners.
For the percentage of women in poverty, they also used data from the ACS. The poverty rate is based on household income, which includes husbands and other family members. To focus data solely on women, they looked at women not living with relatives. People meeting these criteria (both male and female) tend to be younger and earn less. Consequently, this poverty rating will be higher than typical and does not include married women.
They decided to incorporate the percentage of women CEOs to see the number of women who reach the top. Since women are more likely to promote other women, they thought it was an important look at not only women’s personal achievements, but the opportunity for advancement available. They gathered this data from Discoverorg’s study on women CEOs.
For life expectancy, they used the Institute for Health Metrics to gather general data on statewide life expectancy. Life expectancy was incorporated because it can illustrate a variety of underlying factors including health, drug use, suicide, and other conditions.
These are said to be the 10 worst states to be a woman:
You can read the full report here.
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