Introduction
Women in Hawai‘i have a distinct history, culture, and identity that shapes their status in ways that differ from other states. In the United States overall, the largest racial and ethnic groups are White, Hispanic, and Black, accounting for over 90 percent of the population of women of all ages in the country (Institute for Women’s Policy Research 2017a). In Hawai‘i, only 29.1 percent of women identify as White, Hispanic, or Black, while 60.3 percent identify as Asian/Pacific Islander (compared with 5.6 percent of women in the United States overall; Appendix Table 3). The state is also one of only seven states where men outnumber women (Institute for Women’s Policy Research 2017b).
