South Dakota in Bottom Third of States for Women’s Equality

Earlier this month (August 18), the United States commemorated the 100th anniversary of the passing of the 19th amendment to the constitution, which gave women the right to vote for the first time.

While that was an important step toward equality, a century later there is still work to be done to put women and men on equal footing in the nation, especially in the workplace, both in management positions and compensation.

In South Dakota, that gap between the genders appears to be a bit larger than in most other states.

A new WalletHub study finds that the Mount Rushmore State is in the bottom third of states when it comes to women's equality in America in 2020.

South Dakota checks in at number 38 overall after being ranked in three key categories:

Workplace Environment
Education and Health
Political Empowerment

Women in the state ranked 23rd in workplace environment, which factors in things like disparities in income and executive positions as well as job security.

In education and health, South Dakota women ranked 39th in the nation.

Despite having the first female governor in the state's history, women in South Dakota are in the bottom ten in America (41st overall) in political empowerment, with no females currently occupying any of the state's three nationally elected offices. Of the 107 members of the 2020 South Dakota Legislature only 25 are women (23%).

BEST STATES FOR WOMEN'S EQUALITY (WalletHub)