How the Pay Gap Affects You: Worst States for Working Women

If you're a women living in one of these 10 states, your state is paying you less than a man and not really doing much about it. Here's a list of senators, complete with Twitter handles, so you can stand up for your equal rights.

Wyoming

With a whooping 13 percent below the national earnings ratio of 77 percent, Wyoming is in dead last with women making only 64 percent of what a Wyoming man does, according to AAUW.

Mississippi, South Carolina, Utah, Wisconsin, Alabama

Many states have implemented legal enforcements to aid in the fight to close the wage gap. However, there are five that still have no equal pay laws. If you're a woman in Mississippi, South Carolina, Utah, Alabama or Wisconsin, you may want to write a letter to your state representative.

New York

This state is typically seen as a fairly progressive one, but the state government's reluctance to pass Governor Andrew Cuomo's Women's Equality Act says otherwise. While the bill passed in the New York State House in January, it failed to pass in the Senate, mostly due to a hotly debated tenth point that gives a woman 24 weeks into a pregnancy to be eligible for an abortion. The bill was proposed in 2013 and has yet to become a law.

Louisiana

Louisiana is the worst state in the nation for working mothers, WalletHub says. The site looked at three factors when making their final list—childcare, professional opportunities, and work-life balance. It's losing spot in the overall ranking makes sense—in the categories of childcare and professional opportunities, the home of the Big Easy ranked last.

New Hampshire

This state isn't doing well in terms of the pay gap—they're at an earnings ratio of 77 percent. Hear what one of their government officials has to say, and you'll get an idea of why. State representative Will Infantine claims that men make more money than women because they worker longer, more dangerous, and in general, harder: "Men by and large make more because of some of the things they do. Their jobs are, by and large, more riskier," he says. "Women make half of what men do because of flexibility of work, men are more motivated by money than women are." But not all hope is lost in the Granite State—the NH House preliminarily voted yes to the state's Paycheck Equity Act.

Texas

On a national level, President Obama reproached the Senate Republicans for blocking the passage of a long awaited Equal Pay bill, particularly in the state of Texas, by restricting voters.

Utah

There aren't many women at the top in Utah—their female to male executive ratio is the lowest in the nation at just over 26 percent, according to WalletHub.

Mississippi

This state may just miss the bottom ten in terms of earning ratio, but Mississippi is the state where women make the least—the median income for a woman is just $30,287. However, that's not all that's the lowest in this southern state—childcare costs are the least expensive there too.

Washington

Wyoming is the state with the worst earnings ratio in the U.S., but it isn't home to the worst city. According to a study done by the National Partnership for Women & Families, that honor goes to Seattle, Washington, where women make just 73 cents to every man's dollar. Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Detroit follow the Pacific Northwest metropolis.

Related:

The States That Are Working to End the Pay Gap for Women

The FULL LIST of Senators to Contact About Your Equal Pay

Why You Should Care About Equal Pay

Want to Find Out What Your Co-Worker's Make?

The Real Reason Why Companies Don't Want to Pay You Fairly

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