Women in the United States
The legal status of women in the United States is, in comparason to other countries, equal to men, however, among other similar laws, the United States has never ratified the U.N's Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. According to a Gallup poll, 40 percent of women under the age of 30 would like to leave the United States, with most preferring Canada as a place to live for a better life.
Laws
Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
The United States has never ratified the U.N.'s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, although it played an important role in drafting the treaty. As of 2014, the United States is thus one of only seven nations which have not ratified it – also including Iran, Palau, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Tonga.Equal Rights Amendment
37 states as of March 2019 have ratified the Equal Rights Amendment; 38 states are required to ratify it to make it an amendment to the Constitution. Several states originally ratified the amendment, but subsequently rescinded the ratification.Marriage
Child marriage, as defined by UNICEF, is observed in the United States. The UNICEF definition of child marriage includes couples who are formally married, or who live together as a sexually active couple in an informal union, with at least one member — usually the girl — being less than 18 years old. The latter practice is more common in the United States, and it is officially called cohabitation. Laws regarding child marriage vary in the different states of the United States. Generally, children 16 and over may marry with parental consent, with the age of 18 being the minimum in all but two states to marry without parental consent. Those under 16 generally require a court order in addition to parental consent.Parental leave
The United States is the only high income country not to provide required paid parental leave.Reproductive rights
is legal nationwide as of 2014. Abortion is legal nationwide as of 2014; however, states are allowed to place regulations on abortion which fall short of prohibition after the first trimester of pregnancy.Politics and government
The first woman elected to the United States House of Representatives was in 1917, Jeannette Rankin, she represented Montana. In 1978 the first woman was elected to the United States Senate. Women who served before her were finishing someone else's term who died in office or had resigned.In 2017, Melania Trump became first First Lady, Karen Pence the Second Lady. In the cabinet of President Donald Trump are Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary of Homeland Security; Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education; and Elaine Chao, Secretary of Labor. Also serving high-level positions include Gina Haspel, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency; and Nikki Haley, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and Linda McMahon, head of the Small Business Administration. Trump's older daughter Ivanka Trump is one of his senior advisers. Kellyanne Conway was important in the Trump campaign and is an adviser in the administration. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is a spokesperson for President Trump.
As of 2019, there are 102 women of 435 total in the U.S. House of Representatives, 89 Democrats, 13 Republicans. Of 100 members of the U.S. Senate, there are 25 women senators, 17 Democrats, 8 Republicans. There are 9 women state governors, 6 Democrats, 3 Republicans; there are 15 Lt. Governors, 9 Democrats, 6 Republicans. In state legislatures there are 2,121 women.
On the Supreme Court, there are three women justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan. The first woman justice was Sandra Day O'Connor.
Desire to leave the United States
According to a Gallup poll from January 2019, 40 percent of women under the age of 30 would like to leave the United States.Rankings
Gender equality ranking
As of 2017, the United States is ranked 49th of 142 applicable countries in gender equality on the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Index.Statistics
Education
As of 2014, women in the United States earn more post-secondary degrees than men do.Marriage
As of 2013, the most recent year for which statistics are available, average age at first marriage in the United States is 27 for women and 29 for men.Workforce
As of 2014, women are 46.5% of the total United States workforce.Sex discrimination has been outlawed in non-ministerial employment in the United States since 1964 nationwide; however, under a judicially created doctrine called the "ministerial exemption," religious organizations are immune from sex discrimination suits brought by "ministerial employees," a category that includes such religious roles as priests, imams or kosher supervisors.
A woman's median salary in the United States has increased over time, although as of 2014 it is only 77% of man's median salary, a phenomenon often referred to as the Gender Pay Gap. Whether this is due to discrimination is very hotly disputed, while economists and sociologists have provided evidence both supporting and debunking this assertion.
Violence
Violence against women has been recognized as a public health concern in the United States. Culture in the country has promoted the trivialization women-directed violence, with media in the United States creating the appearance of violence against women unimportant to the public.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Justice reports that about 1 in every 4 women suffer from at least one physical assault experience from a partner during adulthood. Studies have found that around 20% of women in the United States have been victims of rape with many incidents of rape being underreported according to a 2013 study.
In 2017, the United States was ranked the world's 9th safest country for women by the New World Wealth research group.