It will be 50 years before the pay of women matches that of men and another century will pass before women make up half of the U.S. Congress, a report released last week by an independent research organization predicted.
The Status of Women in the States report, released by the Washington-based Institute for Women’s Policy Research, showed that the wage gap has narrowed from 1989 to 2002, more women are holding office as governors and the number of deaths from breast cancer and suicides among women has fallen.
But the report also showed that poverty levels among women have risen in 11 states over a seven-year period, more states are requiring a waiting period before performing abortions and minority women make up a disproportionate number of AIDS cases.
“It tells us, yes, that we have come a long way–some of us more than others,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) said at a news conference. “But it also tells us that no matter where we come from or what our color is, we as women still have a long way to go.”
The biennial report, the fifth released by the non-partisan research group since 1996, analyzes all 50 states and the District of Columbia and ranks their performance in five overall categories: political participation; employment and earnings; social and economic autonomy; reproductive rights; and health and well-being.
Overall, Vermont was named the best state for women, followed by Connecticut, Minnesota and Washington. Oregon received an honorable mention.
Southern states dominated the bottom of the list with Texas (45th), Tennessee (46th), Arkansas and Oklahoma (tied at 47th), Kentucky (49th) and South Carolina (50th). Mississippi was again named the worst state for women for the fourth time since 1998.
Florida (44th) was given a special “dishonorable mention” by the organization because the state ranked in the lower half for all categories, though never fell in the bottom 10 of any area. According to the report, while Florida women fell near the middle of the pack of most areas surveyed, they were less likely than women in other states to have health insurance and register to vote.
April Shaw, a senior policy analyst for the research group, noted that southern states tend to be poorer, which can lead to reduced access to political, health and social resources and lower economic status for all residents, male or female. She said these states often rank toward the bottom of the list in the number of women holding political office, which could lead to issues that are important to women not being frequently considered in those areas.
But Shaw added that not all southern states ranked at the bottom of the list. She pointed to Georgia, which she said has some progressive policies for women and families, including a pre-K program for 4-year-olds.
The study’s director, Amy Caiazza, said steps should be taken to close economic disparities between the sexes and boost the number of women in politics.
There were 74 women serving in Congress as of October, up from 58 in 1996. Nine states had female governors and the report stated that women were more likely than men to register to vote.
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Increasing the number of female politicians could go a long way toward setting a policy agenda that makes issues concerning women a priority, said DeLauro, who has introduced a bill in Congress that would close the wage gap between the sexes.
Across the nation, women make 68 cents for every dollar earned by white male workers. Black and Hispanic women earn about 63 cents and 53 cents per dollar, respectively, of what their white male counterparts make.
Caiazza said improving opportunities for women will not only boost their lives and those of their families but also improve communities, states and the nation as a whole.