Hawaiʻi was recently ranked the most inclusive state in the U.S. for the third year in a row, according to a new UC Berkeley study, reported Hawaii Public Radio News.
The 2020 Inclusiveness Index ranked each state on how it treats vulnerable and marginalized populations and judged them according to 29 different indicators of inclusivity including income inequality, political representation and reported hate crimes.
“This inclusiveness index serves as a diagnostic tool to help us identify places and societies that are improving in terms of developing a more inclusive policy and set of institutions,” Elsadig Elsheikh, director of the Institute’s Global Justice Program and co-author of the 2020 Inclusiveness Index told Hawaii Public Radio News. “One of the challenges in measuring inclusivity is that it is difficult to disentangle policies and inclusivity from the investment and resources available to marginalized communities. We try to overcome this challenge by focusing on policies, laws and outcomes rather than government expenditures or investments.”
Hawaiʻi excelled in categories including treatment of groups based on disability, religion and race and ethnicity, but there is still room for improvement as the state trails in its treatment of groups based on different sexual orientations and incarcerated individuals.
Researchers at UC Berkeley’s Othering and Belonging Institute release the annual inclusiveness index to raise awareness for marginalized populations and encourage discussions on how to improve conditions.
Visitors can download the full 2020 Inclusiveness Index here.