Missouri, Kansas rank among worst states for women’s equality, study says. Here’s why
Ahead of Women’s Equality Day on Saturday, a national study found that Missouri and Kansas are among the worst states to live in for women.
Personal finance website WalletHub asked experts and used statistics from resources like the U.S. Census Bureau and National Women’s Law Center to determine where women receive the most equal treatment in the United States. The resulting study said Missouri is the fifth-worst state compared to the rest of the country. Kansas finished as the seventh-worst state.
WalletHub examined the differences between men and women in three key factors: workplace environment, education and health and political empowerment.
They evaluated these factors using 17 metrics and ranked them on a point scale. The factors included income disparity, share of executive positions, doctor visit affordability and the share of lawmakers across the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
Source: WalletHub
Using these metrics, Missouri finished with a score of 45.77 and Kansas finished with a score of 47.43. The highest score a state received was Hawaii, which finished with 73.54 on a scale of 100.
Missouri finished 18th in workplace environment, 48th in education and health and 40th in political empowerment.
Kansas was ranked 35th in workplace environment, 44th in education and health and 33rd in political empowerment.
Some of Missouri’s metrics include:
21st in the earnings gap
33rd in executive positions gap
41st in minimum wage workers’ gap
40th in the political representation gap
And Kansas:
40th in the income gap
40th in the gap in poverty
37th in the unemployment rate gap
46th in the gap between affordable doctor’s visits
Utah ranked as the worst state for women’s equality in the country, followed by Texas, Idaho and Georgia. North Dakota finished between Missouri and Kansas.
The best three states for women’s equality are Hawaii, Alaska and Maine.
