May 7, 2019

More than 70 percent of women with young children have joined the workforce across the U.S., but according to a recent report, Louisiana is the worst state for these women.

WalletHub’s 2019 Best & Worst States for Working Moms, released today, ranked the quality of working-mom life of all 50 states and the District of Columbia on a scale from 1 to 51, 1 being the best. Louisiana is dead last at 51 as the overall worst state for working moms.

To determine the rankings, each location was examined across three areas — Child Care, Professional Opportunities, and Work-Life Balance — which were scored based on 16 key metrics including median women’s salary, unemployment rates, and daycare quality.

“Such obvious inequality sparks debates about gender roles in a shifting socioeconomic environment,” says WalletHub’s report. “Workplace inequality brings up not just financial questions but also deeply ingrained social issues. For instance, should women have to choose between career and family?”

It seems moms in Louisiana often have to ask that question. Of the 16 key metrics, Louisiana scores about average in unemployment rates for females, parental leave policies, and the ratio of female executives to male executives. However, the state scores almost last in daycare quality, gender pay gap, and the percent of single-mother families in poverty.

Of the 16 key metrics, Louisiana never scored better than average.