The Status of Women in the States project ranks and grades Maine across several areas of women’s lives. While Maine performs better in some areas, no matter the rank, there are still barriers and inequities that prevent women from succeeding and thriving. Across all indices, Maine ranks toward the top of states in the country. Maines’s performance is the strongest on the Political Participation and Reproductive Rights indices. Maines’s performance is weakest on the Employment and Earnings and the Health and Well-Being indices.
Explore the Data
As state policies and programs have changed over the years, so has the status of women in Maine. Since 1996, Maine has made progress in some areas, while lagging in others.
Articles and Publications
Filling the Gap: Community College Students Expect Sexual Health Education on Campus
Decades of research point to the importance of comprehensive sex education for promoting health beliefs and behaviors that lead to healthier relationships and reduce young people’s risk for unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). But a survey of community college students found that [...]
The Numbers Don’t Add Up: Women Continue to Earn Less, Regardless of Occupation
In 2025, women were paid less than men for full-time work in all 20 occupations that employ the most women and in all 20 occupations that employ the most men in the United States. Across all detailed occupations with sufficient data, women were paid up to [...]
Unseen Efforts: Disparities in Unpaid Care Work Before and After COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic brought to the fore the need for unpaid care work, as well as the highly unequal distribution of care work. This study contributes to the understanding of care work by providing post-COVID assessments of changes in unpaid caregiving by gender, race/ethnicity, [...]
