Only 100 More Years to Reach Equality

December 3, 2004

by Casey Shevin, Government Relations Intern

A new report by the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) on women's economic, political, social and health status in the U.S. concludes that, at the current rate, it will take 50 more years before women's paychecks will equal men's, and that a full century is needed for women to gain at least half the seats in Congress.

The current pay disparity between women and men, nationally, is 24 cents; the wage gap between women and men is closing at a snail's pace — from 59 cents more than 40 years ago to 76 cents today. In some states the gap is much wider. For instance, in Wyoming women continue to be paid only 66.3 percent of men's wages, and none of the states have managed to achieve pay equity. When race is factored in, the wage gap widens: Hispanic women are paid just slightly more than half of white men's pay.

Progress has been similarly slow in the political arena, moving forward in fits and starts. Between fall, 1996, and October 2004, the number of women governors jumped from one to nine, the number of women in the U.S. Senate increased from nine to 14, and the number of women in the U.S. House rose from 49 to 60. But, overall, the U.S. lags behind many other nations, including a number of poor, developing countries.

But the picture of women's status in 2004 is not entirely bleak. Between 1995 and 2002, women's poverty decreased in all but eleven states and women saw a drop in their average annual mortality rate from both breast cancer and suicide. Ten states improved their reproductive rights rankings substantially between 1996 and 2004.

These findings and many others are included in IWPR's annual Status of Women in the States report, which describes the status of women nationally and ranks each state for women's status based on five areas: political participation, employment and earnings, social and economic autonomy, reproductive rights, and health and well-being. Among the states highest ranked on all measures are: Vermont, Connecticut, Minnesota and Washington. States rated worst are: Mississippi, South Carolina, Kentucky, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.

Additionally, 11 new detailed reports on the states of Alaska, Idaho, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming were released.

Although the main report highlights the various advancements in women's status, it also reports the areas in which women could benefit from improvement. According to IWPR, women across the nation would benefit from stronger enforcement of equal opportunity laws, greater political representation, adequate and affordable quality child care, stronger poverty reduction programs, stronger protection of their reproductive rights and health, greater access to health care, and other policies to improve their status.

The full report, executive summary, fact sheet for The Status of Women in the States, as well as individual state reports, can be found on the institute's web site. Or, download the full report in just one step.