A fifth category for evaluating the states was reproductive issues, including abortion and access to contraceptives. States rated best in this area, for example, did not require parental consent or waiting periods for abortion, provided public funding to poor women for abortions and required insurance companies to cover contraception. With Americans so sharply divided over abortion, however, many people would take issue with the institute's premise that policies that support the right to abortion make a state a better place to live. The institute consistently ranked the Northeastern states higher in terms of women's status, while the Southern states were at the bottom. Policies that affect women change dramatically across state lines, Hartmann said.
New Jersey ranks among the top four states in protecting reproductive rights.
The study examined earnings, the wage gap, the number of women in professional and managerial jobs, and women's overall participation in the labor force. It found that women's median earnings were less than men's in every state. But women's wages and the wage gap varied considerably from state to state. The institute found that women in New England and in Western states along the Pacific earned higher wages than women in the southern and mountain states. The highest rated area for equality in wages was the District of Columbia, where women earn 86 cents for every dollar men earn.