Women in the United States have achieved significant advances and are seeing important changes in their lives. Their access to political, economic, and social rights has improved greatly over the past 40 years. Nonetheless, they do not enjoy equality with men, and they lack many of the legal guarantees that would enable them to achieve it. Women across the nation would benefit from stronger enforcement of equal opportunity laws, greater political representation, adequate and affordable quality child care, stronger poverty reduction programs, stronger protection for their reproductive rights and health, greater access to health care, and other policies to improve their status. This Research-in-Brief summarizes the findings of the 2004 edition of The Status of Women in the States, a national overview report that presents and analyzes data for all 50 states.

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