WASHINGTON — A national study conducted by the finance website WalletHub has ranked D.C. 6th in a list of all 50 states plus the District on the best states for working moms ahead of Mother's Day this Sunday.
The website ranked D.C. on a list of qualities, which added up to its final spot on the list. The following categories are in part what made up the ultimate ranking:
Life as a Working Mom in D.C. (1=Best; 25=Avg.):
- 14th – Day-Care Quality
- 1st – Pediatricians per Capita
- 9th – Gender Pay Gap (Women’s Earnings as % of Men’s)
- 1st – Ratio of Female Executives to Male Executives
- 4th – Median Women’s Salary (Adjusted for Cost of Living)
- 2nd – Parental-Leave Policy Score
The website said that it used data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Institute for Women's Policy Research and more to finalize their rankings.
The worst states on the list, ending with the dead last, were Idaho, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.
Maryland and Virginia were well below the District, sitting next to each other at Nos. 19 and 20, respectively.
The website added that nearly half of the workforce is currently made up of women and that nearly 68% of moms with children under age 18 were working in 2021. The pandemic hampered more women's careers more than men's, however, dropping around 1.3% between Q3 2019 and Q3 2021 for those over the age of 25 (compared to 1.1% for men).