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A shocking new study has found that the five worst states for women are all Republican-led.
WalletHub collected data from all 50 US states to determine where women are treated the best – and worst – based on everything from wage gaps to health to political representation.
‘Ensuring women’s equality requires more than simply giving men and women the same fundamental rights,’ WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo said.
‘The best states for women’s equality have drastically reduced the disparities between men and women on multiple fronts.’
The worst states have not made much progress based on the study’s key metrics: workplace environment, education and health, and political empowerment.
And all but one are located in the southern US.
See the full breakdown below:
1. Utah
Utah has been considered the worst place for women to live in the US for the past 11 years (pictured: the landscape of the Watchman and Virgin River)
Of all 50 states, the study’s findings suggest Utah has the furthest to go in terms of women’s rights.
Utah has been considered the worst place for women to live in the US for the past 11 years.
This year, the Mormon stronghold came dead last for workplace environment and education and health, according to WalletHub.
Utah notoriously has some of the nation’s largest wage and executive-position gaps, meaning women are paid less and there are fewer opportunities for career progression.
Last year, full-time working women in Utah only earned 73 cents for every dollar men made, according to the National Women’s Law Center.
The Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP) reported that the state’s traditional values and the stereotypes associated with women were a major factor in hindering women’s progress.
The UWLP conducted a survey in 2023, in which about 2,400 people shared what they believed to be the largest problems women face in Utah.
‘Women and girls from a very early age are taught in this state that their very existence is substandard to men,’ one participant wrote.
Hannah Neeleman (pictured) is a controversial Utah-based ‘trad-wife’ influencer who runs Ballerina Farm in Kamas with her husband
Utah women have also made headlines with the hit reality TV show The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which focuses on a group of Mormon influencers trying to move on from the scandalous past of member Taylor Frankie Paul (pictured)
‘The greatest challenges for women and girls in Utah are the underlying beliefs that reinforce gender stereotypes, including sexism and misogyny,’ another said.
‘Until we are seen as equal partners in the home, at work, and on the steps of the legislature, change will be slow and arduous.’
One woman touched upon religious pressures, specifically within the Mormon faith, saying that women feel ‘from a very young age that a lot of their worth/value is based on becoming a wife/ mother/homemaker.’
Hannah Neeleman, 34, a controversial Utah-based ‘trad-wife’ influencer who runs Ballerina Farm in Kamas with her husband Daniel, 35, caught the nation’s attention for her values and lifestyle after The Sunday Times named her the ‘most well-known’ of this particular brand of influencers.
Raised in a large Mormon family in Utah, Hannah was the eighth of nine children. She now has eight children with Daniel.
Though she trained as a ballerina at Julliard, she gave up professional dancing shortly after graduation. Instead, she pursued a family and farming.
Utah women have also made headlines with the hit reality TV show The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which focuses on a group of Mormon influencers trying to move on from the scandalous past of member Taylor Frankie Paul.
2. Texas
Texas has been declared the second-worst state for women for its low health and education rating and staggering gender wage gap (pictured: Dallas)
Texas has been declared the second-worst state for women for its low health and education rating and staggering gender wage gap.
The Lone Star State sits just above Utah in the health and education category, at 49th place, according to WalletHub.
Other studies and research suggest that the Texas’ women struggle to find decently paid jobs with solid benefits.
The Institute for Women’s Policy Research wrote that ‘women in Texas are paid less than men for the same job, are more likely to be uninsured and have little or no access to paid time off or family leave from their jobs.’
According to 2022 Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, the median weekly pay for Texas men was $1,059, while it was only $958 for women.
3. Idaho
Idaho scored particularly poorly in the health and education and political empowerment rankings (pictured: Boise)
Idaho, the third-worst place for women, scored particularly poorly in the health and education and political empowerment rankings.
According to The State of My Democracy, women are critically underrepresented in state government.
They hold just six percent of seats in the state Senate, while women of color hold just one percent of seats.
For health and education, Idaho ranked 48th out of 50 in the WalletHub study.
Abortions have been outlawed in Idaho, as they have in 11 other GOP-run states, including Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana.
4. Arkansas
Arkansas made the list primarily for its lack of female empowerment in politics, as women represent only a sliver of the state’s government (pictured: Little Rock)
Arkansas made the list primarily for its lack of female empowerment in politics.
It came in second-to-last in this category, as women represent only a sliver of the state’s government.
As of last year, women represented about 23 percent of all legislators in the state, despite accounting for more than half of the population.
The state’s House of Representatives has launched an initiative called #ARGIRLSLEAD to encourage female leadership across Arkansas.
‘The purpose of this movement is to promote positive self-image and leadership for young girls across the state. This is an opportunity for female lawmakers to use their own experiences and stories to help the next generation,’ its mission statement reads.
5. Louisiana
Out of all the US states, the gender wage gap between women and men in Louisiana is one of the most glaring (pictured: New Orleans)
Louisiana rounded out the bottom five for its dreadful work environment ranking.
Out of all the US states, the gender wage gap between women and men is one of the most glaring.
According to the latest available Bureau of Statistics data from 2022, Louisiana’s women earned about 77 cents per dollar compared to men.
A report from the National Women’s Law Center from March 2024 suggested that women working full-time are actually only making about 75 cents per dollar compared to men.
