There are more reasons to cheer living here, according to this article in The Washington Post: Hawaii is the “best state in America” when it comes to women having more parity in pay and politics.

The WaPo says that’s according to several studies showing that women in the islands are “nearer to parity” with their male counterparts than they are in other states.

Some highlights:

• Women make 83 percent of what men earn in Hawaii, just 2 percentage points below Maryland, the state with the smallest gender pay gap.
• Hawaii is one of 14 states where women are more likely to have completed a bachelor’s degree than men.
• The state ranks third for gender parity in statewide political officeholders.
• Hawaii has a long history of electing women to high office.

Those women, says the WaPo, include Republican Linda Lingle, who served two terms as governor, and Democrat Mazie Hirono, who was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012.