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Women Are Poorer Than Men in These States

Poor woman

It was President Obama who said, "When women succeed, America succeeds." So, why are women still earning only $.78 of every $1.00 that a man earns? According to a recent report released by the Institute Women's Policy Research, women in ALL 50 states are poorer than men -- that's right, this is the case in EVERY U.S. state!

The worst states

The six states where women poverty is the absolute worst are West Virginia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Kentucky and Arkansas.

The states where its the best are District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachussetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Hawaii - but even in these states, men STILL make more money than women!

But why?

The study found many reasons for the fact that, although they have a higher probability of having a Bachelors degree or higher, women are also more likely to live in poverty and less likely to own their own business, compared to men. Here are just 4:
  • Women continue to be discriminated against when it comes to equal pay for equal jobs.
  • Businesses owned by women tend to make less money because they are often smaller, generating less revenue for women.
  • Domestic violence affecting women is costing 8 million paid work days lost due to abuse. This amounts to about 32,000 full-time jobs.
  • Pregnant workers' rights are often not respected. Managers often refuse to hire, demote, or reduce the hours or pay of pregnant women simply because they are pregnant.

Simple solutions = huge difference

Getting back to President Obama's comment that "When women succeed, America succeeds," here are some of the results that we could easily see with just a few changes to put women on an equal pay standing with men.
  • According to Jessica Milli who is the co-author of the report, "if women were paid the same amount as men would amount to just under 450 billion dollars which is about 3% of 2012 GDP," "That is about 14 times the amount of money that was spent by federal and state governments on welfare."
  • If laws were enforced that required women to be paid the same as men for the same jobs, it would cut the poverty rate for working women by half.

Imagine that. Women with the same or higher degrees earning the same as men, greatly reducing their need for welfare, greatly increasing their ability to take care of themselves and their families. You don't need a politician to tell you that this makes sense. Wake up America!

Read more at www.statusofwomendata.org