A new report released at the University of Alaska Anchorage shows Alaska women doing fairly well economically, with among the highest median earnings in the country and among the lowest poverty rates. 

Alaska women have higher median earnings than women in 44 other states and have one of the four lowest poverty rates, right behind Minnesota, Maryland, and New Hampshire and tied with Connecticut and Delaware.

Women in Alaska have one of the seven highest rates of jobs in management or professional jobs, and are among the hardest working in the U.S., with labor force participation rates much higher than all but six states, according to The Status of Women in Alaska, written by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

Despite this, a woman in Alaska makes less than 80 cents for every dollar a man makes, and the disparities are more pronounced for women of color: Native American women make only 66 cents for every dollar a white man makes, African American women 61 cents, Hispanic women 59 cents, and Asian American women only 54 cents.

Alaska also ranks in the bottom half of the states for women’s health and well-being. It is the 7th worst state for women’s death rates from lung cancer and is second only to Nevada for death by suicide among women.

The suicide death rate is more than twice as high as in 18 other states. By many other measures, Alaska women’s health is good, with a lower heart disease death rate than all but six other states, a lower breast cancer death rate than all but five other states, one of the seven lowest AIDS rates in the U.S. and the second fewest cases of diabetes.

“Modest gains made by Alaska’s women in earnings and health do not compensate for lacks in health insurance coverage, high suicide rates among women, and the wage gap between men and women, particularly women of color,” according to Dr. Shelley Theno, Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Kenai Peninsula College.

“Nor do national data on health take into account the high rates of sexual violence experienced by Alaska women, particularly Alaska Native women,” Theno adds.

Alaska is in the bottom third of states for health insurance coverage: 18 percent of women in the state are unprotected. Even for women with insurance, the state government fails to require insurance companies to cover contraception or infertility treatments, important resources in women’s reproductive health.

The Status of Women in Alaska is one of 11 state reports released by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, including first-ever state reports for Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming, as well as Alaska, and updates for Wisconsin and Michigan.

These reports and a national report, The Status of Women in the States 2004, are the fifth round of a biennial series. Since 1996, these reports have informed researchers, advocates and policymakers about advances and gaps in women’s economic, social, and political rights.

The Status of Women in the States ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia on women’s economic progress, social and economic autonomy, women’s health, reproductive rights and women’s political participation.

All across America, women are dramatically underrepresented in political office, starting at the federal level, where no American woman has ever served as President, Vice President, Speaker of the House, or Chief Justice.

As of November 2004, of 535 Members of Congress, 456 are men and only 79 are women. The political participation of women in Alaska ranks slightly below average, even though women’s voter turnout is in the top three in the U.S.

The state legislature is 80 percent male and only 20 percent female, and no women serve in statewide elected executive office. In addition, Alaska is one of the few states lacking both a state Women’s Commission and a Women’s Caucus in the state legislature, giving it a ranking of last place in the nation for institutional resources for women, tied in last place with Maine, Montana, Ohio, and South Dakota.

On the positive side, Alaska is one of the few states with a woman representing it in the U.S. Senate.

“Women in Alaska work hard, but they continue to be shortchanged, starting with their paychecks,” according to economist Heidi Hartmann, president of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

“The state needs to do more to help its women become full and equal participants in the economy and in government offices.”

The Status of Women in Alaska recommends policies to improve the status of women, including: ? Recruitment of female candidates by political parties and campaign finance reform.

• Tougher enforcement of equal opportunity laws and regular auditing of large employers for discrimination in hiring and promotion.
• Federal and state laws and union contracts to require employers to show that comparable jobs are paid fairly.
• Recruitment of women into predominantly male jobs that are well paid, and active prevention of harassment. Improved educational and job training opportunities for women, especially in higher-paid occupations not traditionally held by women.
• Affirmative action to encourage women and especially women of color to enroll in higher education, and increased scholarships and financial aid to reduce economic barriers.
• Increased investment in tribal colleges and in Alaska Native programs at state universities.
• Public and private sector investments in loan and entrepreneurial programs to expand small business opportunities.
• State, local and federal living wage laws and raising the federal minimum wage and improving educational and job training opportunities.
• State investment in technological training in primary, secondary and post-secondary schools, to reduce the digital divide between those with access to technology and those without.
• State enforcement of Title IX equal access rules. Also, public education about the importance of equal access.
• Paid parental and dependent care leave policies.
• Public health targeting of at-risk and uninsured women not eligible for Medicaid.
• Tribally designed economic development strategies and reinforced tribal sovereignty.
• Enhanced reproductive rights, particularly for low-income women.

The report also calls on women to step forward and strive for leadership roles in their communities, on reservations, in business and government at every level.

Co-chair of the Committee for the Alaska State Profile, Dr. Genie Babb, UAA Professor of English, believes that “this report is a wake-up call to the policymakers and activists of Alaska.”

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research is a nonprofit public policy research organization dedicated to informing and stimulating debate on public policy issues of critical importance to women and their families.

IWPR focuses on issues that affect women’s daily lives, including employment, earnings and economic change; democracy and society; poverty, welfare and income security; work and family policies; and health and violence.

The Status of Women in the States was produced with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Levi Strauss Foundation, the Otto Bremer Foundation, and the Rockefeller Family Fund. Merck & Co. Inc. and the AFL-CIO provided support for the national overview report, its Research-in-Brief, and its Fact Sheet.