UWLP Press Release
In June 2023, A Bolder Way Forward for Utah (BWF) was established as a statewide movement to help more Utah girls and women thrive. National and statewide studies continue to show that women and girls in Utah are not thriving in critical areas. This is the 10th year in a row that Utah has been ranked by WalletHub as the worst state in the U.S. for women’s equity.
During the fall of 2023, researchers from the Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP) at Utah State University conducted a statewide study to establish a baseline of public perceptions related to the awareness, understanding, and attitudes around challenges that Utah women and girls face
The survey focused on the following areas: education (finance, higher education attainment, and K-12 initiatives); community engagement (political representation, boards and commissions, and civic engagement/ advocacy); safety and security (child sexual abuse, domestic violence, poverty and homelessness, sexual assault, and sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination); health and wellbeing (health across the lifespan and home and family); and workplace (childcare/pre-K programs, entrepreneurship, gender pay gap, leadership development, organizational strategies and workplace culture, STEM fields, and workforce development).
Based on the 2023 survey data, 18 research summaries on specific areas of focus were published and provided to BWF leaders to determine goals and metrics for the seven-year movement. BWF has created coalitions in all 29 counties. Utahns are encouraged to learn more about their specific county (https://www.usu.edu/uwlp/a-bolder-way-forward/county-coalitions) and how to get involved.
UWLP’s 2024 fall survey, open until mid-November, is being conducted to better gage Utahns perceptions of the challenges facing girls and women in the state. The survey will be open until mid-November. “The 2024 survey will allow leaders to see what progress has been made in the past year,” said Susan R. Madsen, founder/director of UWLP and the Karen Haight Huntsman Endowed Professor of Leadership at Utah State University. “We would like to get as many Utahns as possible to take the survey,” says Madsen. “It is critical we have strong samplings from all counties in Utah.”
Madsen invites all individuals living in Utah, age 18 or older, male and female, to participate. The survey will take 10-20 minutes to complete.
English survey: https://usu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9HcwpBzQPgLahAa
Spanish survey: https://usu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bPJj9xTuQoQK1vg