Although Utah was recently ranked The Best State in America by U.S. News & World Report and receives many accolades, we have significant issues that need to be acknowledged and addressed. This includes high levels of domestic violence, sexual assault, child sexual abuse and gender-based discrimination.
Utah also ranked as the worst state for women’s equality and having low levels of women’s leadership representation in nearly all domains, including politics and business.
Utah women and girls thrive (and as a result so do boys, men, and families) when all aspects of their safety, security, health and well-being are met, allowing them to explore and pursue educational, professional, civic, leadership and other opportunities according to their interests, and to feel abundant levels of support and a sense of belonging as they do so.
In the fall of 2024, I enjoyed meeting with leaders and residents in Wasatch County to brainstorm how to better strengthen the impact of girls and women in your area. My Utah Women & Leadership Project colleague, Amy Anderson, and I collected ideas and strategies from 42 residents that individuals, groups, and organizations can use to address the complex and unique issues that women and girls in Wasatch County face.
During our conversation, five primary areas of concern emerged: home and family, education, health and well-being, culture and community engagement, and business and economics. Attendees suggested specific ideas within each of these areas, and I thought I would share some of them here:
Home & Family: In Wasatch County, parents are recognized as the most powerful influences on the lives of their daughters. To help girls and women thrive in Wasatch County, families can ensure daughters and sons understand that women do not have to choose between motherhood and other roles such as being a college student, employee, or volunteer, prioritize children’s education, encouraging a focus on homework and providing a supportive environment, stress the value of ongoing education of all types, including academic and life skills; teach young women that education will serve them in all areas of their lives, and change cultural norms and stop self-imposed sexism at home by sharing household responsibilities.
Education: Leaders in Wasatch County emphasized the role schools play in developing leadership, confidence and competence in girls and young women and the essential role graduating from college plays in a woman’s life. Leaders can acknowledge the importance of financial literacy education, healthy relationship curriculum, mental health awareness, and life skill coursework for students and incorporate it in the curriculum, develop fact sheets and educational information for parents on the lack of gender equity in STEM fields and the enrollment disparity in middle school and high school classes so they can address the inequality, encourage school counselors to be deliberate in conversations with girls and young women about the importance of college education while developing life plans and goals, explore existing community and regional resources and partner with programs like Girls on the Run to build self-confidence, invite community leaders to mentor students, prioritize engaging strong female leaders and encourage pairing students with mentors of the opposite sex, and share data on the gender disparities in educational success and enrollment in Utah with parents and faculty.
Health & Well-being: Concern over the physical health and emotional well-being of girls and women in Wasatch County emerged as a primary theme. Leaders and community members can distribute information on community resources that combat domestic violence and sexual assault and encourage women to access support, encourage regular and routine healthcare visits for daughters and model by completing annual checkups and testing, educate girls from elementary school onward to focus on strengthening a healthy body and mind, and normalize healthy life balance for women — balancing work, family and self in all stages of life.
Culture & Community Engagement: The culture in Wasatch County is heavily influenced by religion and historic social expectations. Leaders are concerned about the limitations and decreased value culture has placed on women and girls. The Wasatch County community can encourage local religions to identify areas where girls and women may be marginalized, find opportunities to make positive change, and allow girls and young women of all faiths to see their potential and their options, gather interfaith women together to share and support the spiritual needs of girls and women, help women and girls recognize where they can become civically engaged alongside their other priorities, facilitate a mindset not of “either/or” but rather an “and” mentality, opening the door for women to consider a run for public office, motivate male allies to support women in politics, business, and other leadership roles in the community, present opportunities for women to share stories of disenfranchisement, sexism, pay disparity, and financial challenges, along with examples of their resilience, and promote or develop community groups that support and educate women about social issues (e.g., gender, women’s rights), and provide safe spaces to voice and stand up for their beliefs.
Business & Economics: In the business sector, Wasatch County women struggle with limited opportunities for internal advancement and leadership, as well as with conscious and unconscious bias. Industry leaders can eliminate workplace barriers for single working mothers, including unaffordable child care; unpredictable work schedules; lack of work experience, job skills, and knowledge of workplace norms; and perceived discrimination, implement and provide policies, procedures, and resources to create family-friendly and flexible work environments supporting women’s needs, including supporting hybrid work, invite high school and college-age women to join the Wasatch Business Alliance to build the future workforce, mentor women on how to engage professionally in the workplace, how to re-enter the workforce, and how to communicate their accomplishments, skills, and abilities in a professional manner that demonstrates transferable skills. Facilitate intergenerational mentoring, and address the pay gap between men and women, which may discourage women from participating in the workforce.
I believe there is so much potential in Wasatch County for positive change that can ensure that more girls, women, and their families (including boys and men) can better thrive.
In 2023, my team and I launched “A Bolder Way Forward for Utah,” a statewide movement with coalitions in each county to help make sure this happens. You can learn more about the Wasatch County Coalition here or reach out to [email protected] to learn more about how you can get involved.
The full report is available here. Thank you to Intermountain Heber Valley Hospital and to the many collaborators and partners in Wasatch County who supported the community conversation.
Dr. Susan R. Madsen is the Karen Haight Huntsman Endowed Professor of Leadership in the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University and the founding director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project.