Homestate Shame
Texas tumbles to the bottom as one of America's worst states for women
Some states are better than others when it comes to friendliness toward women, and unfortunately Texas is not one of them. Even though the Center for an Urban Future recently commended Dallas on its friendliness toward female entrepreneurs, North Texas cannot make up for everything. WalletHub compared 50 states and the District of Columbia across 15 metrics, and due to some sad stats, the Lone Star State ranks No. 42 in the country.
The personal finance website's findings were split into two main categories: women's economic and social well-being, and women's healthcare and safety. Within those two groups, 15 weighted metrics were calculated.
Stats given full weight included things like median earnings for female workers, unemployment rates for women, the percentage of women living in poverty, women-owned businesses, high school dropout rates for women, the percentage of female voters, the amount of women who are uninsured or up to date on their healthcare screenings, and the rate of female homicides. Life expectancy at birth is noted as well.
Double weight was given to previous WalletHub studies, which ranked working moms, women's equality, and best states to have a baby.
Texas comes in at No. 39 for percentage of women living in poverty and 42 in women's preventive healthcare. Sadder still, we rank dead last for female uninsured rate.
The only bright-ish spot is that we're No. 24 in the unemployment rate for women, and No. 22 for the high school dropout rate.
Not great, but it's better than the bottom 10, girl.