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- Power moves. If you want to be a woman with power and influence in the U.S., consider living in Washington, D.C.
That's the finding of a new report called the U.S. Women's Power and Influence Index. The report by the organization Future Forward Women and unveiled in partnership with the Meteor ranks the 50 U.S. states (plus D.C.) from most to least likely to foster power and influence for women. States were assigned scores across a variety of factors. For economic power, women's labor force participation, union membership, unemployment, education, median earnings, and poverty rates were the key criteria. For women's health and wellbeing, maternal mortality rates, insurance coverage, sexual harassment, and reproductive rights contributed to final scores. And for women's political power, the report tracked the number of women serving in national and statewide elected office as well as women's voting power.
The nation's capital comes out on top. Women in D.C. earn more—a median income of $87,000—than women anywhere else. While this research was conducted during the Biden administration, report author C. Nicole Mason says she doesn't expect D.C.'s ranking to slip because of the Trump administration. "D.C. is ranked first in part because of its great women-and-family friendly policies and the number of women in power, holding a significant number of leadership positions," she explains. "Women in the District also have the highest earnings in the nation, and high levels of educational attainment." Oregon fares well too, with the highest ranking for women's political and legislative power.
Rather, Mason expects women in states ranked last to suffer over the next four years because of cuts to federal programs like SNAP. Coming in last place in this index is Alabama, where women face great challenges accessing economic and political power. However, solely based on economic criteria, Mississippi in fact fares worse than Alabama.
While the report covers issues of general health and wellbeing, it makes the connection between women's overall support in a state and their level of influence. Where women's basic wellbeing is in question, women are less likely to wield power.
Mason hopes the project makes clear the different realities facing women in different parts of the U.S. right now. "Women’s health, economic well-being, safety and political power hinges on the state they reside in," she says. "This shouldn’t be the case."
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
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