The four factors analyzed to develop the composite scores were: median annual earnings (for full-time, year-round women workers); the earnings ratio between men and women (again, for full-time, year-round women workers); the share of women in the workforce and the share of women in managerial or professional jobs.
Alaska and California are the only two states to have fallen from the top top 11 spots since 2006, the last time the group calculated the composite scores. They were replaced by New York and New Hampshire.
To calculate each state’s score, IWPR simply divided the value for each measure by the national average and added all four ratios together. To determine letter grades, the researchers compared each state’s composite score to an ideal — an America where women are equal to men on median earnings, wages, workforce participation and holding managerial and professional jobs.