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
Essential but Undervalued: Systemic Barriers Facing Black Women in Social Work
Black women have faced systemic racial and gender discrimination in the labor force, and although historically they have had high labor force participation rates, they tend to be overrepresented in care and service jobs. As such, an intersectional lens is key to understanding Black [...]
The Generational Wage Gap: Pay Equity Decades Away for Women Overall, Centuries Away for Women of Color
The generational wage gap shows just how far we still are from pay equity. At today’s pace, women won’t reach equal pay with men until at least 2071—and for many women of color, pay equity is still centuries away. With the wage gap widening [...]
Threats to Women’s Reproductive Freedom and Maternal Health
This policy brief focuses on the OBBB’s impacts on women’s reproductive justice and health equity, specifically on the issues outlined in IWPR’s Promoting Access to Abortion and Maternal Health policy briefs. More than three years after the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, [...]
