The Best U.S. States for Working Women

[xchrom]

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2011/11/best-states-working-women/357/

Women now hold down the majority of jobs in the U.S. workforce. As Hanna Rosin has argued, in some ways the economic crisis may have tilted the playing field even further away from men, who have borne the brunt of blue‑collar job losses, and toward women, who are more concentrated in knowledge and service work. Still, a significant earnings gap between the genders remains, according to a host of studies, and in that respect men remain the winners by a large margin.

My new report, The Rise of Women in the Creative Class, written with my Martin Prosperity Institute colleagues Charlotta Mellander and Karen King, uses American Community Survey data to rank the best states for working women. We looked at rates of women’s workforce participation and wage and salary levels for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. In addition, we developed two new metrics to evaluate the best states for working women – a "Location Premium" and overall "Women’s Earnings Index." This week I'll summarize the key findings of that report. Today, I begin with our findings on the best states for working women.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. I'm surprised by Mississippi for the most and California for the least.

[lumberjack_jeff]

2. So, by this logic, West Virginia is the best state for working men?

The "earnings gap" is inherently flawed premise because it doesn't account for the 10% of men who are unemployed and therefore make zero.

[onpatrol98]

3. Now...if women could only take over the state...

Now if women could only take over the state of Mississippi...that would be an accomplishment.

;)