Women in the District of Columbia are better off economically than women in any state, according to the second report in a seven-part series from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research that was released Wednesday.
The new report evaluates the District and the 50 states in different areas including percentage of women living above the poverty line, percentage of women with health insurance, percentage of women with a bachelor’s degree or higher and the percentage of businesses owned by women.
The District narrowly beat Maryland in the percentage of businesses that are women-owned. D.C. also has the largest percentage of women with bachelor’s degrees or higher and the second largest percentage of women covered by health insurance, not including those covered by Obamacare.
However, D.C. has one of the lowest percentages of women living above the poverty line, which reflects the high degree of inequality among the city’s residents.
Women in the Free State received the second best composite score and the highest of any state. Maryland boasts the second highest percentage of businesses owned by women. The state is also third among the states in percentage of women with a bachelor’s degree and third in percentage of women living above the poverty line.
In addition, Maryland ranked in the top 10 for percentage of women with health coverage, not including those covered by Obamacare.
In Maryland, men are still 1.9 times more likely to work in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, while men in the District are 1.3 times more likely to work in STEM occupations. Women in Maryland still earn 87.4 cents for every dollar a man earns, compared to women in D.C., who earn 87 cents for every dollar a man earns.
The institute estimates that at this rate, women in Maryland will not receive equal pay until 2042. In the District, it is estimated that women will not see equal pay until 2055.