Study: Texas 9th worst state for women

While women outnumber men in most states (including Texas), ladies often get the short end of the stick in many categories.

A WalletHub study found Texas was the ninth worst state in the United States for women.

The research team looked at 24 key indicators for living standards for women in each state.

Some factors included median earnings for women, rate of female homicide, health care, and more.

Texas ranked the worst in the country for number of women without health insurance.

Texas women came in 48th in the U.S. for percentage of women who voted in the 2016 presidential election.

The best state for women, according to this study, was Massachusetts and the worst was Louisiana.

Women in Washington D.C. made the most money (when adjusted for cost of living) and women’s median income was the least in California.

While women had the highest median income in D.C., the area also had the highest rate of female unemployment.

Dividing the states into politically “red” (Republican) versus “blue” (Democrat), blue states seem to be better for women with an average rank of 14.86 versus red states at 33.80.

Many areas of Texas have higher-than-average poverty rates and while cost of living is generally low, experts say the quality of other services and opportunities can suffer.

“States with relatively higher rates of poverty may have a lower cost of living, but they also tend to do less well in terms of public-school quality, health care, business opportunities, social services, and racial discrimination. The quality and accessibility of reproductive health care services in particular matter to women, especially those needing access to contraception, abortion services, and obstetrical and gynecological care,” said Yana van der Meulen Rodgers, a Rutgers University professor.

While some progressive states are moving forward with minimum-age increases, paid sick leave and pay equity, other states are lagging and will ultimately suffer, van der Meulen Rodgers says, when they fail to attract working parents – especially women.

The WalletHub looked at 24 relevant metrics with varying weights for a total 100-point scale.

The metrics were grouped into two main categories -- women’s economic and social well-being (60 points) and women’s health care and safety.

See how other states fared on the WalletHub study of best and worst states for women at: https://wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-states-for-women/10728/#main-findings.

Claire Kowalick, a senior journalist for the Times Record News, covers local government, military and MSU Texas. If you have a news tip, contact Claire at ckowalick@gannett.com.

Twitter: @KowalickNews