Last Friday was International Women’s Day, so in belated observance, I thought I’d take a look at Bloomberg’s annual ranking of the best states for gender equality and female leadership.
In terms of gender parity – which factors in median pay ratio by gender, labor force participation, college degree, health coverage and women living in poverty – Massachusetts ranks 5th.
Which states come out ahead of our glorious Commonwealth?
Well, Vermont ranked #1, which will come as no surprise to anyone who lives in modern day Vermont (but might surprise native Vermonters from back in the day, like my late husband). Vermont it plenty progressive – hippy-dippy, even. It’s also the state with the most self-identified members of the LBGT community. (Massachusetts is right up there, too.) And it’s the state that’s given us that gift that keeps on giving: Senator Bernie Sanders. (Take your senator, please…)
Minnesota, Maryland, and Hawaii also beat Massachusetts when it comes to gender parity.
Admittedly, We’re Number Five! doesn’t have the same cachet as We’re Number One!
But it sure beats We’re Number Fifty! That honor goes to Mississippi, which is about as surprising as Vermont’s top of the heap ranking.
With the exception of Rhode Island, which ranks 11 on the Bloomberg list, all of the New England states are in the Top Ten. The cellar dwellers are primarily in the South, with a few western states (Texas, Oklahoma, and Idaho) thrown in the mix. These states – I’m going top of head here, but I think that with the exception of those Western states) tend to be all-round poor. It’s not like the men in these states are doing swimmingly, either.
Which comes first, poverty or rotten conditions for women? Probably a simulcast…
But whatever you think of the blue state/red state arguments, there’s no question that progressive politics are correlated with economic success, better health, higher education levels…Again, which comes first? Can progressive states afford to be progressive because they’re wealthier, healthier, and better educated? Or are we wealthier, healthier, and better educated because we tilt in the progressive direction.
Or does it all come down to northern and more urban and industrial states being wealthier historically, and the fact that, except for a few pockets, the South has just never managed to escape its rural disadvantage? Sure looks that way when you look at where states land on measures economic and physical health, for women and for men.
Location, location, location? State of origin is destiny?
I’m sure I sound like I’m taking smug credit for living in Massachusetts. And, of course, I am.
But when I look at the list of the Top 25, the only states I can imagine living (in addition to New England), are on that list: New York, Colorado, Illinois, Washington, Oregon…And these are states that tend to rank pretty high in every quality of life measure I’m interested in. (Okay. I’ll ignore Illinois corruption and fiscal meshugas.)
And places in the Bottom 25, mostly it’s a no, thank you.
I will admit that I always enjoy looking at these lists – typically drawn up by coastal elite MSM types – in which my state always ends up near the top. Are there lists that I don’t see – concocted by Fox News, maybe – in which Massachusetts ranks towards the bottom? Friendliness in grocery stores? Weather?
I don’t know. I just find where I live a pretty good place to be, and I guess I like it when my bias is confirmed.
Back to Bloomberg – now there’s a coastal elite organization, if ever – it also ranks the best states for female leadership. The results area pretty much the same as they are for gender parity. Massachusetts steps up a place, coming in at number four, followed by Maine and Vermont. New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island are all in the Top Twenty.
Once again, Mississippi trails the fifty state pack.
I’m more than happy that I live in a state that’s a good place for women. But before I do too much of a gloat, I need to remind myself that, International Women’s Day or not, it’s pretty depressing that there’s such disparity in all measures of success among the fifty states.
I suppose that someone’s got to be on top, and someone else has to be on bottom. And the view from the top is a lot better. But the tremendous disparity between top and bottom is really no cause for joy.
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Source: Bloomberg
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