While many might know it as the Cowboy State, another one of Wyoming’s nicknames is the Equality State, a nod to Wyoming's early steps toward equal rights for women.
In 1869, the Wyoming Territory became the first of any state or territory to permanently give women the right to vote and hold office – 50 years before Congress passed the 19th Amendment extending voting rights to women across the country. The next year, it swore in the country’s first female justice of the peace, jurors and bailiffs, and in 1924, the state elected the country’s first female governor.
But while the long lists of firsts may seem impressive, some aspects of gender equality in modern-day Wyoming can seem at odds with its nickname.
In a 2022 analysis, U.S. News ranked Wyoming 45th out of the 50 states for gender equality. The state lagged behind other states most in two categories – representation and power, and family planning – and struggled to see gender parity across a number of metrics, including college graduation rates, mental health and affordability of being a single parent.
(Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)
Working women in the Equality State also face one of the largest gender wage gaps in the country and are severely underrepresented in management positions. Meanwhile, women who choose to have families face a relatively high maternal mortality rate and limited access to birth control.
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