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Isle women:
Health is high,
voting low

A report also ranks them in
the top seven states for reproductive
rights and economic autonomy

Hawaii ranks 5th in health rating, up from 11th

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By Helen Altonn
Star-Bulletin

"Women in Hawaii exemplify both the achievements and shortfalls of women's progress over the past century."

That is the conclusion of a report out today -- "Status of Women in Hawaii" -- which found that Hawaii scored in the top 10 states in areas related to health issues but lagged in political interest and offices.

Hawaii's women fall at the bottom of states in the number registered to vote and voting, according to the report. They placed 49th in the nation for voter registration and last for voting based on 1992-96 figures.

They ranked seventh in the country for holding elected office but "hold nowhere near a proportional number of political offices," the report said.

While lagging in political interest and offices, Hawaii women scored in the top 10 in three areas -- first in health and well-being, third in reproductive rights and seventh in economic autonomy.

Hawaii was one of nine states selected for the study, an ongoing project by the Institute for Women's Policy Research, a public policy research organization.

First Lady Vicky Cayetano was to join the Hawaii State Commission on Status of Women at the Capitol today to review highlights.

Hawaii women score well in many areas, especially related to health issues, said Leslie Wilkins of Maui, commission chairperson.

"Areas we're not pleased about, particularly heightened by the current national voting dilemma, is the fact that Hawaii ranked ranked at the very bottom for women voter participation."

Also, the 50th state falls in the lower half of states for women's poverty and has a higher poverty rate than two other western states -- Alaska and Washington, she noted.

Wilkins said she and other participants in the study were shocked at the registration and voting results and will target that area.

"This is an opportunity for us to lay the groundwork to raise those numbers of voter participation. We can certainly show the importance of one vote. We couldn't ask for a better national scenario to put that point across."

The commission will work with county committees to look into the reasons for women's low participation in elections, Wilkins said.

"We were told that until last Tuesday, for the most part, Hawaii feels disenfranchised from the voting process because at noon here we know the impact of the national election.

"We've also been told possibly there are some cultural overlays here, the fact that we have a large immigrant population, and we need to do a better job of outreach to educate them on their rights as American citizens," she said.

In the economic area, Hawaii is in the top third, at 16th place, for women's employment and earnings. "We rank very high for the wage gap, in that women earn about 84 cents to a male dollar in Hawaii -- higher than the national average," Wilkins noted.

The downside, she said, is that island women rank 49th in the country for moving up the corporate ladder to managerial and senior corporate positions.

"It shows pretty clearly there are some barriers to the corporate road to the top. But you can tie that to the excellent fact that women in Hawaii are opening their own business at record numbers."

Hawaii is third in the nation for women-owned businesses per capita, she said. "It is very exciting, very good news for our economy."

Still, nearly half of single women with children in Hawaii live in poverty, slightly more than the national rate. Hawaii ranks 29th, below the country's mid-point, for women in poverty.

The state received a C-plus grade for employment and earnings of women, a C for political participation, a B for economic autonomy and an A-minus for reproductive rates and health and well-being.

"Women in Hawaii and the United States as a whole are seeing important changes in their lives and in their access to political, economic and social rights," the report said. "However, they by no means enjoy equality with men and they still lack many of the legal guarantees that would allow them to achieve that equality."

The report concludes that women in Hawaii and across the nation need stronger enforcement of equal opportunity laws, better political representation, adequate and affordable child care and other policies that would improve their status.

Hawaii ranks 5th in health rating, up from 11th Star-Bulletin staff Hawaii is No. 5 among states in a new national ranking for healthiness. The rankings, by the UnitedHealth Group, were released at the American Public Health Association's 128th annual meeting in Boston yesterday. "This ranking confirms what we have long known -- that Hawaii is one of the healthiest places in the nation to live," said Gov. Ben Cayetano. "It also recognizes the state's efforts to continue striving to improve the lives and the personal health of our people." The top four healthiest states were New Hampshire, Minnesota, Utah and Massachusetts. Last year, Hawaii ranked No. 11. The state's rise in the ranking is attributed to an increase in prenatal care and a decrease in violent crime and motor vehicle deaths. There has also been a reduction in the prevalence of adult smoking and in occupational fatalities. The UnitedHealth Group State Health Rankings is a yearly analysis of the relative healthiness of the American population. The report also offers the states' overall health comparisons for the past decade.