Regional Patterns of Female Status in the United States

Two measures of female status displayed dissimilar spatial distributions. Absolute status, measured by income, education, and occupation, was highest in the West and Northeast and lowest in the South. Female status was high where male status was high. The relative status of women compared to men, however, was high in the West and the rural Middle West and South but low in the Mountain West and industrial Northeast. Nationwide, where men enjoyed high absolute status, the relative status of women compared with men was poor.