03-03-2025
The five worst states for women are in the South, study says. See where Tennessee ranks
Women's History Month is a time to reflect on women's immense contributions to history and today's society. It's also a time to recognize that women's equality is still an ideal that has yet to be reached.
In the spirit of Women's History Month, WalletHub identified the best and worst states for women to live in, specifically studying two categories: "Women's economic & social well-being' and 'women's health care & safety'
WalletHub studied all 50 states, plus Washington D.C.
The study used 25 metrics to measure how well women can thrive across the U.S. In the economic and well-being category, WalletHub looked at female employees' median earnings, female rates of poverty, the share of women-owned businesses, high school graduation rates and more.
In the women's healthcare and safety category, experts looked at abortion access, the quality of women's hospitals, obesity and suicide rates, as well as the female homicide rate. Across all the metrics, each state was ranked out of 100 total points.
Source: WalletHub
The Volunteer State is in the bottom half of the best states for women to live in the U.S., according to WalletHub. Out of the 100 offered points, Tennessee has a score of 51.42 and ranked at No. 36 overall.
In the economic and social well-being category, Tennessee is listed at No. 26, landing between Nebraska and New Mexico.
Tennessee ranked at No. 45 in terms of health care and safety. Tennessee has one of the most restrictive abortion policies; it is nearly completely outlawed with very few exceptions. The state adopted its abortion policy in August 2022, following Roe. V. Wade being overturned in June 2022.
Though in the bottom half of U.S. states, Tennessee ranked well in the best states for women survey compared to many other Southern states. Virginia, Kentucky and North Carolina were the only states to rank above Tennessee at No. 22, No. 33 and No. 32 respectively. Alabama at No. 46, Georgia at No. 43 and South Carolina came in at No. 39.
Additionally, the five worst states for women are all located in the South.
No. 1: Massachusetts
No. 2: Minnesota
No. 3: District of Colombia
No. 4: New York
No. 5: Maryland
No. 47: Texas
No. 48: Lousiana
No. 49: Arkansas
No. 50: Oklahoma
No. 51: Mississippi
Women's History Month started as a California "Women's History Week' in 1978 to be celebrated during the week of March 8 to correspond with Intranational Women's Day, according to the National Women's History Museum.
Two years later in 1980, women's groups, historians and the National Women's History Project (now called the National Women's History Alliance) successfully lobbied for national recognition of Women's History Week. President Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation declaring National Women's History Week to be the week of March 8, 1980, according to the National Women's History Museum.
It wasn't until 1987 that Congress designated March as Women's History Month. Each year, the President proclaims March as Women's History Month.
Each year, the National Women's History Alliance designates a theme for Women's History Month. In 2025, the theme is "Moving Forward Together! Women Educating & Inspiring Generations."
The theme honors women who are educators, mentors and leaders, according to the NWHA.
Women's History Month is often marked with purple, white and green, the official colors of International Women's Day. Purple represents justice, dignity and loyalty to the cause, green is the color of hope and white is the color of purity.
The colors originated from the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) in the UK in 1908, according to the Intranational Women's Day campaign site.
International Women's Day is celebrated on March 8. Though International Women's Day is marked worldwide, it is not a national holiday in the U.S.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: For Women's History Month, where TN ranks in best states for women list
