Since the 2013 controversial passage of House Bill 2, which placed restrictions on abortion clinics and prompted the closing of more than half the clinics in the state, Texas has gained a reputation outside the state as one of the worst providers of women's health care the country.
See also: It Really Sucks to Be a Kid in Texas It Really Sucks to Be Mentally Ill in Texas It Really Sucks to Be Old in Texas
It turns out, that's not the only area where Texas fails its women. A new study released by WalletHub measured gender equality across every state. The information compiled surveys in factors such as workplace environment, education, healthcare and political representation, then averaged the rankings in each area to determine each state's overall ranking.
Texas was nearly ranked last in the country for gender equality. We rolled in at number 47 overall, beating only Idaho, Utah and Wyoming. The study compared the variance between men and women in several subcategories to determine the average ranking of each state for each category.
The study took into account such factors as pay, average work hours and number of executives for the workplace environment category. It considered the number of residents with a degree, and life expectancy for the health and education category and the number of lawmakers in the political representation category.
In Texas, we rank close to the bottom in just about every category and subcategory, except maybe political representation. We're just barely in the bottom half, sitting at No. 27 for that ranking. We rank 39th in the country for education and health care.
In what may be surprising to many -- or not, unfortunately -- workplace environment was our lowest ranking in the individual categories. We placed 43rd in that area. Part of it has to do with ranking in executive positions, which measured the percentage of men in leadership positions versus women. In that category, we rank 47th.
The best states overall for gender equality? Hawaii, New York, Maryland, Maine and Nevada. In the category of workplace environment, where we come embarrassingly short, Nevada is the best place to be a working woman. Wyoming is the worst.
