INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana women gained no ground in the latest rankings on the economic status of women.

The state once again received a D and continues to rank dead last among all states for work and family policies.

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research recently updated state grades and data from its Employment and Earnings Index and Poverty and Opportunity Index, part of its Status of Women in the States series.

The institute grades states on six areas: employment and earnings; political participation; poverty and opportunity; reproductive rights; health and well-being; and work and family.

Indiana is in the bottom third of states, earning a D overall. Its rankings on the two updated grades – employment and earnings and poverty and opportunity – remained unchanged – D’s.

The state’s highest grade is a C-, which it received in political participation and its lowest is an F in work and family, where the state ranks 51st. Indiana’s grade in this area is due in part to lack of legislative support for policies like paid leave, elder and dependent care, child care, and prekindergarten, a news release said.

“The Indiana Legislature has yet to make improving women’s economic status a priority,” said Erin Macey, policy analyst for the Indiana Institute for Working Families. “It’s not surprising that we have seen no progress on these measures.”

The report ranks Indiana 48th in the nation for both gender wage ratio and for share of all workers in managerial and professional jobs.

In 2016, Indiana’s gender wage gap grew 2 percentage points.

A news release from the Indiana institute said a number of bills were offered this year that might have improved women’s economic outcomes. These included improvements to Indiana’s equal pay law, workplace accommodations for pregnant women, increases to the minimum wage, and a paid family leave program. None received hearings in the Republican-led legislature.

Source: Journal Gazette