Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
In this Sunday Edition, taxes are due on April 18. A spokesman from the IRS offers tips and advice. Also, the White House issues its first report on the state of women in nearly half a century. We discuss the findings and examine how Utah women compare.
Segment 1: Taxes
Two weeks out from the federal tax filing deadline, fully half of all Americans had not submitted their tax return forms to the IRS. America has no shortage of procrastinators.
As we count down to the deadline, taxes are a hot topic and a concern for many. IRS spokesman Bill Brunson fields some of the tax questions that may be on your mind.
(Filing electronically) is fast, it's accurate and secure. If you have a refund coming it can be directly deposited in your savings or checking account in as little as 10 days or less and that check can't get lost or stolen in the mail. And it is accurate because the software will do the math for you, make sure you have all the attachments, make sure that all the signatures are there.
–Bill Brunson
Sixty percent of U.S. households hire someone to their taxes.
Seventy percent of Americans file electronically. This number is up from previous years.
"It is fast, it's accurate and secure," explains Brunson. "So if you have a refund coming it can be directly deposited in your savings or checking account in as little as 10 days or less and that check can't get lost or stolen in the mail. And it is accurate because the software will do the math for you, make sure you have all the attachments, make sure that all the signatures are there. So it is truly the way to file a very accurate and fast return."
The error rate with an electronically filed tax return is less than .5 percent.
Most common mistakes are simple addition and subtraction errors, mistakes when adding dependents, incorrectly entering social security numbers, forgetting to sign your return, and mistakes in account number and routing number for direct deposit. Brunson says many of these mistakes can be avoided by electronically filing.
If you can't get your taxes filed on time you should request an extension to file on or before midnight April 18. There is no charge and it gives you an automatic six months to submit your taxes.
Segment 2: State of Women
Last month the White House Council on Women and Girls released a comprehensive report on the status of women -- the first of its kind since 1963.
The report finds that while women continue to make significant strides in the workplace, they still fall behind in equal pay and in financial stability In a featured story in the Deseret News on April 10, reporter Sara Israelsen-Hartley takes a closer look at the White House findings and explores the status of women in Utah.
I think it was interesting to note that Utah women… are not doing so well in terms of preventative care. We are really low, 50th and 51st in terms of getting cholesterol screenings, pap smears and mammograms. That is really concerning to them as health care providers.
–Sara Israelsen-Hartley
Over 50 years ago, Eleanore Roosevelt's report found large discrepancies regarding equal pay. Hartley says those findings helped get the Equal Pay Act passed. The new report finds there are still differences between women and men when it comes to pay.
The report also examined access to medical care.
"I think it was interesting to note that Utah women� are not doing so well in terms of preventative care," explains Hartley. "We are really low, 50th and 51st in terms of getting cholesterol screenings, pap smears and mammograms. That is really concerning to them as health care providers."
Local doctors told Hartley they think women are so concerned with taking care of their families that they don't take time for their own care.
Women are still lagging behind men in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math--STEM.
That's especially true in Utah as Dr. Cynthia Furse knows well. Dr. Furse is an associate vice president for research and a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Utah.
In the United States 10, maybe 20 percent of our engineers are women, in other countries it can be 40, 60 percent. It's something cultural.
–Dr. Cynthia Furse
Furse thinks there may be more men in engineering because women do not hear about it early enough to think it would be an exciting field for them.
"Engineering is really an exciting, innovative, just a tremendous field. Being an engineer is being an inventor. It is not a boring thing. It is an exciting, creative, energetic thing.... it allows us to truly make designs that change our world and change it for the better," she says.
Despite the stereotypes, Furse says girls do excel in math and science through high school. She says the difference between men and women in the field is cultural, not biological.
"In the United States 10, maybe 20 percent of our engineers are women, in other countries it can be 40, 60 percent," Furse explains. "It's something cultural."
She says engineering is a great career for a mother. She was able to take time off and stay home with her children until they went to school and then had a schedule allowing her to be home when they got home from school. She says there are many options, such as working full time, part time, job sharing, and telecommuting.
"It's the perfect thing for a mother because it is in tremendous demand and people pay you well to do it," says Furse. "It is the perfect career as a mother and I think it is something that Utah women and Utah parents don't realize."
The College of Engineering and other science colleges at the University of Utah do a lot of outreach to K-12 students and their parents. The National Science Foundation invested $2 million in the state of Utah to spread the word about engineering as a career.
