Best state in America: Hawaii, where women have more parity in pay and politics

Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010. Hawaii stands out for having a relatively small gender pay gap and for its long history of electing women to high office. (Rebecca Breyer/AP)

The pay gap between men and women remains wide. Elected officials are still overwhelmingly male. Progress in reversing those deficits has been slow, but one state — Hawaii — stands out.

Several studies of political and economic power show that women are nearer to parity with their male counterparts in Hawaii than they are in other states.

Women make 83 percent of what men earn in Hawaii, just two percentage points below Maryland, the state with the smallest gender pay gap. Women in Nevada, Vermont, New York, California, Florida and Maine also make at least 83 percent of what men do, according to a study published this year by the American Association of University Women. At the top of the list is the District, where women’s median earnings are 90 percent of men’s.

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Hawaii has a long history of electing women to high office. Linda Lingle (R) served two terms as governor, from 2002 to 2010, and Mazie Hirono (D) was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012. Of the 13 people who have represented Hawaii in the House of Representatives since it became a state in 1959, five — including both current incumbents — have been women.

Read the entire piece at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/best-state-in-america-hawaii-where-women-have-more-parity-in-pay-and-elected-office/2014/10/02/9e3412bc-48d0-11e4-a046-120a8a855cca_story.html