Worst States for Women

Alabama women have among the worst health outcomes of all states. Women have a life expectancy at birth of 78.0 years, the fourth-lowest of all states. The state also has the third-highest infant mortality rate, at 7.7 deaths per 1,000 live births. It also has a relatively low share of women who are insured, at 91.4%. Nationwide, 91.8% of women have health insurance.

Female leadership in Alabama is a mixed bag, as just 15.7% of legislature seats are held by women. This makes Alabama one of just two states in which fewer than one in six legislators are female. Yet the state’s governor, Kay Ivey, is one of two female governors in Alabama history. Women hold 41.6% of management jobs in the state, slightly higher than the 41.4% rate nationwide.

Just 11.9% of West Virginia state legislators are female. This is by far the lowest share of any state and less than half the national rate of 30.6%. West Virginia has never had a female governor, either. However, 43.4% of management jobs in the state are held by women, the eighth-highest share of all states.

West Virginia women also have the lowest life expectancy at birth of any state, at just 77.3 years – nearly four years lower than the nationwide life expectancy for women. Though the state’s gender wage gap is roughly in line with the gap nationwide, West Virginia’s female workers have among the lowest median annual earnings, at $38,428.

Oklahoma has one of the most utilized and best funded pre kindergarten systems in the country. The state spends an average of $9,404 per preschool student, the eighth-highest total, and 38% of 3- and 4-year-olds in the state are enrolled in state preschool – tied for the second-highest rate.

However, Oklahoma’s health outcomes and leadership measures for women are among the worst in the country. Women in the state have a life expectancy at birth of 78.2 years, three years lower than the national average. Also, just 86.6% of women in the state have health insurance, the second-lowest rate in the country.

Arkansas has a relatively small gender wage gap. Median annual earnings of female workers in the state are 84.1% of the median for male workers. The nationwide gender wage gap is 82.3%. Yet most of Arkansas’ female workers earn less than $40,100, well below the U.S. median earnings for all female workers.

Less than a quarter of Arkansas state legislative seats are held by women, at 22.2%. This is the 10th lowest share among all states. The state has also never had a female governor. Arkansas also has the seventh-lowest female life expectancy at birth, at 78.2 years – three years lower than the median nationwide.

Missouri ranks as one of the worst states for women in large part because of its relatively poor health outcomes for female residents. It is tied for the 12th lowest female life expectancy at birth, at 79.3 years. It is one of just 16 states that do not offer paid sick leave, paid family leave, or expanded eligibility for family planning services coverage under Medicaid.

Women in Missouri also face steeper economic challenges than women in most other states. Female workers earn 78.7% of what male workers do, the 13th widest gender wage gap, with a median annual earnings of just under $42,000.