Report on Women Questioned in N.W. Ark.

Although Arkansas received poor grades on the status of women residents in almost every category in a recent study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, the grades do not necessarily reflect the status of women in northwest Arkansas, said Janine Parry, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

Parry led the Arkansas Advisory Committee that helped publish the study.

A “strong regional flavor” divides the state in most categories, Parry said, adding that Benton County’s exceptionally low unemployment rates are overshadowed by the figures from counties such as Woodruff and Desha.

Only the state’s grade for political participation — “D” — probably applies to women in Benton and Washington counties, Parry said.

Overall, Arkansas was rated the third worst state in America for women to live in, tied with Kentucky and South Carolina. The study listed Mississippi as the worst state for women to live in, and Alabama and Tennessee tied for the second worst.

Arkansas received the following grades in the study: women’s health, “D+”; women’s political participation, “D”; reproductive rights, “D”; employment and earnings, “F”; and economic autonomy, “F.”

This year, the institute published similar studies for nine states aside from Arkansas, marking the third in a series of releases intended to detail the status of women residents in every state.