CHICAGO – Some say the phrase “working mom” is redundant!

Ask any working mom and most will tell you the work they do at home is just as, if not more demanding than the work they do on the clock.

Women make up nearly half of the U.S. workforce, and in 2021, 71% of those women had children under the age of 18, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

With Mother’s Day fast approaching, the personal-finance website WalletHub put together a report on 2022’s Best & Worst States for Working Moms.

Researchers scored states on a variety of metrics ranging from best daycare systems to lowest childcare costs, and lowest gender pay gap to highest female executive-to-male executive ratio.

Illinois sits in 13th place overall, but for Child Care it’s second; for Professional Opportunities it’s 33rd and for Work-Life balance its 26th.

Here’s how some neighboring states fared overall: Wisconsin placed fifth, Indiana 21st, Iowa 23rd, and Minnesota is fourth.

Massachusetts takes the top spot as the best state for working moms and Louisiana holds the 51st spot as the worst.