Women fare well in isles, nationwide study shows

Hawaii was ranked the seventh-best state for women, according to a recent study by personal finance website WalletHub released earlier this month in honor of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day.

The Aloha State received a total score of 71.13 and was tops in overall women’s health and safety. It ranked first in women’s life expectancy at birth as well as quality of women’s hospitals and third in women’s preventive health care. It also ranked sixth in share of female-­owned businesses and unemployment rate for women.

WalletHub said it compared the 50 states and District of Columbia across 23 key metrics, including median earnings for female workers, health care, homicide rates and friendliness toward working mothers.

Full weight was given to metrics such as median earnings, while double weight was given to friendliness toward working mothers. Data were pulled from federal sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Bureau of Labor Statistics.

While ranking well in health care, Hawaii was at the bottom (No. 51) for lowest median earnings for female workers when adjusted for cost of living and percentage of women who voted in the 2016 presidential election.

Hawaii fell behind top-ranked Minnesota and Massachusetts and Vermont, which were ranked Nos. 2 and 3, respectively. The lowest-ranking state was Louisiana, at No. 51. Overall, the study also found that blue states are more women-friendly than red states.