These Are the Best U.S. Metros for Working Women in 2019

Women made history in the 2018 midterm elections, running for and winning offices by record numbers, making it the “Year of the Woman” according to Brookings. The number of state legislature offices held by women rose from 25% in 2018 to 29% in 2019, per the Center for American Women and Politics, an encouraging sign for the future of working women. With more women in office, it’s more likely that issues centering on women in the workforce will get the attention they deserve.

And they do deserve attention. Despite women’s higher educational attainment, the rate at which  women are participating in the workforce has plateaued, as have their wages. Women’s average earnings were still almost 82% of men’s in 2017, the most recent year available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

But the picture for working women can look brighter (or bleaker) depending on where they live. For the second year in a row, to find the best places to be a working woman, MagnifyMoney analyzed and ranked the 50 largest U.S. metros.

 Key takeaways

 

• Washington, D.C., once again holds the top spot with an overall score of 74.
• Seattle jumped from sixth place to second, with an overall score of 66.2.  This is because the state of Washington created a family leave insurance plan that allows workers to receive at least partial pay when they use their Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) time starting in 2020. FMLA is used as a stand-in for maternity leave by many American women. Under federal law, employers can’t fire workers for taking up to 12 weeks off for qualifying events, but employers do not have to pay workers for that time.
• Charlotte, N.C., dropped to the lowest spot on our list, with an overall score of 32.1. Women are underrepresented in leadership roles there, both in business and in government.  
• Detroit came in second to last, with a final score of 33.5, thanks mostly to high unemployment and a wide gender pay gap.  
• Twenty-seven states offer no protections to workers who are pregnant or who have children. This is unchanged from last year, although some states with existing protection — such as Massachusetts, Washington and New York — as well as the District of Columbia expanded their benefits. Only 22 states have some kind of pregnancy accommodation laws, and some of those are scant.
• These protections are nonexistent in six of the bottom-ranking 10 cities: Detroit, Memphis, Birmingham, Miami, New Orleans and Cleveland.

 

The 10 best U.S. metros for working women

Table/map top 10: https://infogram.com/1p7v659emyw6n2fz2l99zjgq5qbnp69d1v0

 

The map and table above show the 10 cities that offer working women have the most equitable compensations and most opportunities for career advancement. Four of these cities are located on the Pacific Coast, with three of those in California. Neighboring cities Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and Boston and Providence have spots in the top 10.

Here’s a closer look at how these cities rank on different factors.

The nation’s capital is tops again.

Washington, D.C. is the best place overall for working women. It has the highest percentage of managerial positions in its workforce filled by women, at 43.9%, of any city. Boston, Providence, R.I., and Sacramento, Calif. were the other top 10 cities with high rates of women leadership in management positions, at just over 43% each.

D.C. also has some of the strongest parental and pregnancy leave policies of the 50 cities surveyed, second only to Boston. Of the top 10 cities, Washington is where child care is the most affordable, costing an average 19.9% of women’s median earnings.

Seattle is friendly to female entrepreneurs, as the U.S. city with the highest number of women-owned business, at 39.7%. San Diego is the other top 10 city with a high 35.8% rate of businesses owned by women. The West Coast, in general, is a place where women entrepreneurs are succeeding.

 

Western states welcome new legislators.

While Las Vegas had the highest number of female legislators of any city surveyed — Nevada is the only state where women hold a slightly majority in the state legislature (50.8%) — it didn’t crack the top 10 due to relatively high unemployment and low parental protection rates. Of the cities that did, Denver and Seattle have the highest numbers of women holding state legislative positions, at 46% and 40.8% respectively. Women in Colorado hold a majority in the state’s lower house.  

The 2018 midterm election brought more women into statewide office, an encouraging sign for the future of working women. Across the country, the share of women who hold state office rose from just 25% in 2018 to 29% in 2019 — the highest in history. Mississippi had the lowest representation rate in the country at just under 14%, but none of its cities are big enough to make it on our list. That distinction falls to Memphis and Nashville, Tenn., where only 15% of state lawmakers are women.

Minneapolis has the lowest unemployment rate

No. 4 Minneapolis has a 3.6% unemployment rate, the lowest among all 50 cities surveyed and well below the U.S. average of 4% in January. Denver, where just 4.2% of women in the labor force are unemployed, is the other top 10 city scoring well on this factor.

L.A. once again has the lowest wage gap.

Then there’s the earnings gap between men and women, which is the lowest in 
Los Angeles at just 11.2%. However, LA was not one of the top 10 cities — it came in at No. 21 overall. Two other California cities had the smallest gap in earnings by gender. San Diego women earn just 12.4% less than men, and Sacramento women earn 13.7% less.

Child care is costliest in Boston.

Despite landing in the top 10 cities for working women, Boston is where child care is the most costly with day care costs equal to 27.4% of median earnings among women.

But on the brighter side, Boston and Minneapolis are the two cities where more women receive employer-sponsored health insurance benefits. In Minneapolis, 71.4% of working women received health insurance coverage through an employer, as do 70.5% of women in Boston.

The 10 worst U.S. metros for working women

 

Map/table: https://infogram.com/1p9z0n60nzpl00u7kzqw2592r9h31e7jx9w

 

Of the 10 cities that offer women the least favorable economic conditions, public policies, and leadership opportunities, most are concentrated in the South. Specifically, seven of the 10 are in Southern states:

• Charlotte, N.C.
• Memphis, Tenn.
• Birmingham, Ala.
• Miami
• New Orleans
• Oklahoma City
• Houston

Of the remaining worst cities for working women, Detroit and Cleveland are located in the Midwest. Salt Lake City, Utah is the sole western city among these 10.

Here are some details on how these cities ranked on specific factors.

Tennessee lags in female representation.

Tennessee has one of the lowest percentage of state legislative offices filled by women, at 15.2% — affecting Memphis’ rank among the 10 worst cities. New Orleans and Birmingham also had low rates of female representation in their state legislatures. One bright spot for Birmingham:  Of all 50 cities surveyed, the lowest child care costs relative to women’s median earnings were in Birmingham, Ala.

Houston has the lowest percentage of women in management positions of all 50 cities surveyed, at just 35.9%. It’s followed closely by Salt Lake City, where just 36.2% of managers are women, and Oklahoma City at 38.1%.

Women are least likely to own business in Buffalo, N.Y. It’s not among the 10 worst cities for working women, but in Buffalo just 23.7% of business have female owners. Birmingham is a bottom 10 city that’s nearly as bad on this measure, with just 23.9% of businesses owned by women.

Unemployment rates soar in southern California.

Riverside, Calif., near Los Angeles, had the highest unemployment rate among female workers, at 9.5%. Of the 10 bottom-ranked cities, Memphis and Detroit are close behind with respective unemployment rates of 7.9% and 7.5% among women.

Wage gaps span the map.

New Orleans has the widest gap in earnings between men and women of all 50 cities (tied with San Jose). In both cities, women’s median earnings are 26.6% lower than men’s earnings, but the Big Easy is also weighed down by low rates of female representation in the state legislature and parental protections. Salt Lake City nearly matches New Orleans and San Jose with a pay gap of 26.5% between men and women working there. Detroit also has wide gender pay gap that means female workers earn 25.9% less than their male peers.

Women working in Miami are the least likely to receive health coverage through their employers. Less than half (49%) of Miami’s women have employer-based health insurance.

Charlotte drops three spots.

Already in the No. 47 spot last year, Charlotte, N.C. drops to last place in this year’s rankings. Women have nearly nonexistent parental protections here and among the 10 worst cities, Charlotte women pay the most in child care. They see 26.5% of their paychecks eaten up by child care costs, on average.

 

Full rankings: Where the largest 50 U.S. metros fit in

https://infogram.com/1pw25dvdpmmze1bvl253v209pzu9n00jm03

 

The map and list above provides a full overview of where each of the 50 largest U.S. cities rank. Check to see if your city is among the place friendly for working women, or a spot where they’ll have the hardest time getting ahead.

4 tips for modern working women

The results of our rankings show that while working women are doing better in some places than others, they’re still far from achieving parity with working men.

While it’s more difficult for women to change the working conditions and equality in their cities (or lack of it), they can still take steps to make sure they’re getting ahead at the office. Here’s how women can stand out at work and advance their career — and pay — more quickly.

• Seek assignments that will get you noticed. Women are more likely to be assigned “office housework,” administrative tasks that keep a workplace running smoothly but won’t get them noticed. To position yourself for a raise or promotion, volunteer and ask for more high-profile assignments tied to important business or revenue goals. And don’t be shy about pushing back if you’re assigned mundane duties and tasks; it’s reasonable to request that these be fairly shared among all workers.
• Find a mentor or ally at work. Look around your workplace to find the people who are in the positions you’d like to move into as you advance your career. See if these people are willing to mentor you — this can be especially beneficial if they are also women. Women can also seek mentorship, feedback and support for your professional growth from your direct manager. Lastly, you can ask for help and give support to your female peers, making sure your workplace is somewhere that women’s contributions are noticed, recognized and rewarded.
• Balance work with personal responsibilities. The expectations often put on women outside the office can affect performance at work, especially for working mothers. While having children tends to have minimal effect on men’s careers, it might even give their paychecks a boost. For women, motherhood is  often a professional setback. Society tells women they can “have it all,” but maybe the message should include “just not all at once”. Get clear on your priorities in life and how your job fits into that, and you can more easily identify when it makes sense to go full-steam at work and when to back off.
• Manage your finances carefully. Although they have lower earnings compared to men, working women can help compensate for this by making wise money choices. Women have more student loans than men, for instance, so prioritizing paying down this and other debt is a first step to start catching up. Women also tend to have lower retirement savings than men, so make this a focus as well. Take full advantage of any employer match you get for retirement contributions. After that, continue to slowly increase contributions and use raises to boost your retirement savings rates.

Building a career and financial foundation that works for you won’t happen overnight. But following these tips, working on your professional skills, and developing solid money habits can go a long way.

Methodology

Each of the 50 largest metropolitan statistical areas (“MSAs”) was ranked against each other, on a 100-point scale, based on eight factors relevant to women’s ability to achieve financial and professional success. The final score for each MSA is the average of points assigned for each metric, and those points are assigned based on where the metro falls between the highest and lowest values for all metros.

The eight factors are:

• Employment. The percent of women who are unemployed, as reported in the American Community Survey 2017 (five-year estimate) from the U.S. Census Bureau (“2017 ACS”).
• Health care. The percent of women between the ages of 18 and 64 (inclusive) who have employer-based health insurance, as reported by the 2017 ACS.
• Business ownership. Percent of businesses with employees that are owned, either wholly or equally, by women, derived from the 2016 Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs from the U.S. Census Bureau.
• Management positions. Percent of people in management occupations who are women, derived from the 2017 ACS.
• Wage gap. Gap, as a percent, between median earnings of men and women, derived from the 2017 ACS.
• Child care. The average cost of in-center child care, as a percent of median earnings for women. Day care costs were reported in The Care Index from New America and Care.com, and median earnings were reported by the 2017 ACS.
• Representation. The percent of elected state (or district) legislators who are women, as reported by the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University’s Eagleton Institute of Politics.
• Workplace protections. State pregnancy and parental workplace protections were scored on the following bases. The highest possible score was 100 points and the lowest was zero. The highest actual score was 57 and the lowest actual score was zero.
• Paid leave: The number of paid parental leave weeks covered by the state, divided by a maximum of 12 weeks, up to 50 points.  Data was reported by the National Partnership for Women & Families.
• Pregnancy accommodation protections: Each MSA was granted points based on six factors reported by the National Partnership for Women & Families, for a possible total of 30 points, for the following:
  • The existence of such a law
  • If the law covers both public and private employees
  • If the law covers all employers, regardless of employer size
  • If the law doesn’t specify medical documentation for accommodations
  • If the law doesn’t include an “undue hardship” exemption for employers
  • If the law expressly extends protections for issues related to breastfeeding
• Allowable time off to attend school events: The number of hours spent at a child’s school, per year, for which a parent cannot be fired, divided by a maximum of 40 hours, up to 20 points.  Data was reported by workplacefairness.org.

For the sake of clarity, each metro name is the first city and state listed in the MSA title, which we understand to be the most populous component of each MSA. The Care Index (child care costs) refers to Norfolk, Va., which we associate with the Virginia Beach MSA.

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Analysis: Oil and gas companies linked to David Bernhardt own a fifth of oil and gas leases in sage-grouse habitat

Acting Interior Secretary expected to weaken conservation plans, helping former clients

DENVER—A new analysis from the Center for Western Priorities found that oil and gas companies with ties to Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt own 20 percent of all federal oil and gas leases that overlap with sage-grouse habitat in five Western states.

The Interior Department is expected to announced its final Records of Decision on the sage-grouse as soon as tomorrow, solidifying Bernhardt’s re-write of landmark conservation plans reached just four years ago between the Interior Department, Western governors, ranchers, industry, and conservationists. The Bernhardt revisions strip key protections for the bird and allow more oil and gas development in grouse habitat, a move that could lead to the grouse being listed under the Endangered Species Act.

CWP’s analysis looked at oil and gas leases that intersect with sage-grouse habitat in Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. 20.4 percent of those leases were owned by companies or subsidiaries which David Bernhardt represented directly as a lawyer or lobbyist, or sat on the board of the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), a trade association that Bernhardt represented.

“This map shows why David Bernhardt was too conflicted to work on anything related to sage-grouse at the Interior Department,” said Jesse Prentice-Dunn, policy director at the Center for Western Priorities. “But earlier this month, Bernhardt admitted that he was working on these plans from his very first day back at Interior.”

The IPAA, Bernhardt’s former client, submitted formal comments requesting specific policy changes on the sage-grouse. Many of those recommendations, such as cutting requirements that oil companies offset habitat damage by paying for conservation work elsewhere, were accepted partially or in full as part of the proposals released in December.

A previous analysis by the Center for Western Priorities found the Interior Department has moved ahead with at least 19 policy actions supported or requested by 16 of Bernhardt’s former clients. Those actions include eliminating fracking safety rules and stopping almost all enforcement against companies that violate the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Methodology

The Center for Western Priorities analyzed publicly-available data in the Bureau of Land Management’s LR2000 database, first identifying authorized oil and gas leases in Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming, then determining which leases intersected with sage-grouse habitat, as identified by the Bureau of Land Management. Applicable leases were then filtered by developer to determine which leases were owned by companies, and their subsidiaries, linked to Acting Interior Secretary Bernhardt. These include former clients, as identified by ethics recusals, financial disclosures, and lobbying records, as well as companies that sit on the Board of Directors of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, a major oil and gas trade association that was a Bernhardt client. The resulting data was refined to remove duplicate leases.

 

The full dataset and GIS shapefiles are available to reporters on request. Jesse Prentice-Dunn is available for video and audio interviews. To speak with an expert on public lands, contact Deputy Director Aaron Weiss at 720-279-0019 or aaron@westernpriorities.org.

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As you can read at the link, the findings provide compelling data about investors’ increasingly negative perceptions of their investment performance, which affects their future investment intentions and, ultimately, firms’ overall performance. The study was conducted in December 2018 when market volatility was at a four-year high and many investors were experiencing the worst returns since the financial crisis. Not surprisingly, investor satisfaction suffered, but amidst that struggle, important insights about what separates the best advisors in any market have emerged.

 

Following are some of the key findings of the 2019 study:

--Increased investor flight risk: Among investors whose advisor explained their 2018 investment performance, more than half (53%) indicate they “definitely will” recommend their advisor vs. 24% among those who did not receive an explanation of their performance. Additionally, while only 10% of the former group “definitely will” or “probably will” consider switching firms over the next year, that percentage doubles to 20% among the latter group.

--Performance declines affect high net worth satisfaction and loyalty: Since 2018, overall satisfaction with investment performance has declined 46 points (on a 1,000-point scale), but among high net worth investors (those with $1 million or more in investable assets), the decline is 66 points. Wealthier investors not only have more to lose when markets decline, but also this group tends to be older, so they have a shorter time horizon for when the assets are needed, which can amplify the perceived effect.

--Boomers have increasing concerns about financial well-being: Three-fourths (75%) of Boomers and Pre-Boomers indicate they are the same or worse off than last year, up from 58% in 2018. This change in sentiment can affect the bottom line, as the percentage of investors who “definitely will” recommend their primary firm drops from 64% among those who say they’re “better off” to 49% among those who say they’re “about the same” and 41% among those who say they’re “worse off.”

--The missing digital link: Given the critical importance of effective communication across channels, it is vital that firms upgrade investors’ perceptions of their mobile capabilities. Mobile continues to be the channel with the lowest satisfaction among full-service investors across all generational segments, trailing both online/web and phone, and is especially low among Boomers (671) when compared with Gen X (787) and Millennials (853).   

Edward Jones (853) ranks highest in overall investor satisfaction, followed by RBC Wealth Management (848) and Advisor Group (846).

Full rankings can be found at the link above.

==================================

 NEVER LOVED

Releases Debut EP 

Never Loved

 

Available for Purchase Here

Streaming via Spotify & Apple Music

 

New Music Video, "Charged," 

Premiering Now on Substream Magazine

 

"The Florida [three piece] knows how to

turn a sneering vocal hook and a parade of power 

chords into a thumping chorus."- Billboard

 

"...the trio dive into the hills and valleys of 

a modern relationship through jamming guitar 

and gritty vocals." - Alternative Press

 

"With their debut EP...the band is making their mark 

as passionate, skilled songwriters that work together 

as a cohesive unit that is truly impressive." - Substream Magazine

 

 

 

March 15, 2019 - Florida - The wait is over for Never Loved's brand new self-titled EP, out now via Equal Vision Records. The band has also shared a music video for "Charged," streaming now on Substream Magazine. Never Loved, the debut release from the alternative rock trio, can be purchased online at neverloved.lnk.to/ep. Fans can stream it in full via Spotify and Apple Music.

 

"The EP is something that we're extremely proud of. There's a lot of diversity and showcases a lot of the different influences we have," shares lead singer Camm Knopp. "Working on these songs with Matt Squire not only helped bring the EP to another level, but also made us become better musicians/writers."

 

He continues: "It's an honor to be releasing our first EP on Equal Vision Records. EVR has put out some of my favorite releases of all time and for our music to be in the same hands as those bands/records were is surreal."

 

Never Loved will be kicking off a busy spring touring scheduling tonight in Los Angeles with In Her Own Words. For a full list of upcoming shows, please see below or visit: www.neverlovedmusic.com.

 

Hailing from the sunny shores of South Florida comes the alt-rock trio, Never Loved. With electrifying choruses & loud, gritty guitars, this three piece powerhouse is guaranteed to spark your inner adolescence. 

 

Last year Never Loved signed with Equal Vision Records. The announcement came alongside the premiere of the band's first ever single, "Dead Inside," via Billboard. Most recently fans were given a taste of "Goddamn," which premiered exclusively on Alternative Press.

 

Never Loved is set to charge up your 2019 with their debut EP produced by multi-platinum producer, Matt Squire. Never Loved is out now and can be purchased at neverloved.lnk.to/ep.

 

 

For More Information, please visit:

Website: www.neverlovedmusic.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/neverlovedmusic

Twitter: www.twitter.com/neverlovedmusic

Instagram: www.instagram.com/neverlovedmusic

 

Never LovedTracklisting:

1. Dead Inside

2. Charged

3. Gone

4. Goddamn

 

Upcoming Tour Dates w/In Her Own Words:

3/15 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Hi Hat

3/16 - Anaheim, CA @ Chain Reaction

3/18 - Tempe, AZ @ 51 West

3/19 - Henderson, NV @ Eagle Aerie Hall

3/20 - Cupertino, CA @ The X Bar

3/21 - Fresno, CA @ Strummer's Bar & Grill

3/22 - Orangevale, CA @ The Boardwalk

3/24 - Flagstaff, AZ @ Firecreek Coffee Company * 

3/29 - Nashville, TN @ The End * 

3/31 - Teaneck, NJ @ Debonair Music Hall * 

 

* - Indicates show not with In Her Own Words

 

Upcoming Tour Dates w/Boys of Fall:

4/1 - Albany, NY @ The Low Beat

4/3 - Scranton, PA @ Stage West

4/4 - West Haven, CT @ The Cave

4/5 - Manchester, NH @ Bungalow Bar & Grill

4/6 - Brooklyn, NY @ Kingsland

4/7 - Amityville, NY @ Revolution Music Hall

4/10 - Columbus, OH @ Donatos

4/11 - Cleveland, OH @ Mahall's

4/12 - Madison, WI @ The Annex

4/13 - Chicago, IL @ Cobra Lounge

4/14 - Indianapolis, IN @ Irving Theater