Top 10 cities for women employees

Despite companies' best efforts, not every workplace is equally supportive of their female workforce. But sometimes, it may be impacted by local environments.

Workplace insights platform Forage recently assessed almost 400 principal U.S. cities and scored them against 12 criteria including measures of gender equity — such as the wage gap and the gender breakdown of people in management positions — as well as indicators tied to employment, cost of living, public safety and healthcare.

"People of all genders should have equal opportunity to thrive in their careers, but we have not yet reached gender equity in the workplace," says Forage's lead data reporter, Jenna Bellassai. "For this study, we aimed to highlight cities that better support women's professional success, according to financial, well-being, and health indicators."

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Gender pay gaps and other measures of gender equity in the workplace differ by location, according to Forage. In 2021, white women earned about $0.82 for every dollar men earned, Hispanic women earned about $0.58 and Black women about $0.63, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the Census Bureau. Their guide was aimed to indicate where women are set up to succeed the most in their careers.

With an unemployment rate of 2.4% for female workers and over half of overall management positions made up of women, Portland, Maine, ranked first on Forage's list. Bismarck, North Dakota, and Grand Junction, Colorado, came in second and third, respectively, both with the lowest unemployment rates on the list. 

Comparable wages to men also gave certain cities a competitive advantage as seen by Stamford, Connecticut, and Fredrick, Maryland, both making the top five with women's earnings close to matching that of men's at 99.4% and 94.6% respectively.  

How does your city measure up? Check out the locales that made Forage's top 10: