Photo: Getty Images
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Five New England states made the top ten list for best states for gender equality... Massachusetts didn't make the cut coming in at number 11, in a new U.S. News and World Report analysis.
The highest ranking state in New England was Maine in second place followed by, Rhode Island in third place, Vermont in fourth place, Connecticut in seventh place, and New Hampshire in eighth place.
The analysis based the states rankings on education, economy, health, family planning and care, and representation and power. The metrics used to calculate each category's score included test scores, labor force participation, health care coverage, and access to birth control. In most categories, U.S. News measured gender disparity comparing the difference of their findings to the total population in the state, with family planning and care category being the exception. The study only focused on people who identify as women and men due to a lack of data on people who identify as nonbinary, according to U.S News and World Report.
Read More: Haymarket Vendors Fear They're Being Pushed Out From Lack Of Storage Space
Massachusetts received a score of 57.6% in education, 71.7% in economy, 65.7% in health, 50.5% in family planning and care, and 69.8% in representation and power. The state performed highly in the health and economy categories of the analysis and had one of the lowest maternal mortality rates of any state. Massachusetts’s maternal mortality rate is 8.4 per 100,000 births in 2022 making it the state with the second-lowest maternal mortality rate behind California, according to World Population Review.
The state with the highest rating was Maryland coming in at first place. They received the highest ranking in the education category than any other state because of low gender disparities when analyzing eight graders math and reading scores, and placing third among the states for four-year public college graduation rates. Maryland's last two governors have made K-12 education a priority while other states have continued to scale back funding, attributing to the state's high ranking, according to U.S News and World Report.
Idaho was in ranked last out of all the states with a 7.8% in education and 0% in economy.
WBZ's Shari Small (ShariSmallNews) has more:
Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App