- A Utah Women and Leadership Project study highlights gender pay gap and harassment issues faced by Utah women.
- 80% of Utahns acknowledge the existence of the pay gap; 81.8% urge leaders to address it.
- Some respondents said cultural influences impact discrimination; 43.6% distrust organizations to properly handle harassment reports.
LOGAN — From a troubling gender pay gap to dealing with sexual harassment and discrimination, Utah women face serious workplace-related challenges.
The first of five white papers released Thursday by the Utah Women and Leadership Project at Utah State University detailed the results of a statewide survey of over 5,200 participants, establishing a baseline for public perceptions related to those challenges.
"For those who want to more deeply understand the perceptions and attitudes around the challenges Utah women and girls face, this 40-page report contains a significant amount of critical data that can help workplaces and communities find ways to ensure that more girls, women, and families in Utah thrive," Susan Madsen, lead researcher and co-author of the report, said in a statement.
Here's a look at what the survey revealed regarding two of the report's four sections — gender pay gap and sexual harassment/gender-based discrimination — along with what it means.
Gender pay gap
While the nation has made progress in narrowing the pay gap between men and women, the Beehive State hasn't kept pace, according to the report.
In 2025, Utah had the 49th largest income gap in the nation.
It's not a secret, either, with nearly 80% of Utahns saying they somewhat agree, agree or strongly agree that the gender pay gap exists. Additionally, 78% agreed that Utah women make less money than men, despite having the same/similar experience, education and position.
The report also noted that more educated respondents had higher agreement levels with both.
While just 7.6% of Utahns in the combined samples disagreed at any level that a pay gap exists, one-fifth of Utahns surveyed (20.9%) said they believe women's own choices are the cause of the gap.
A majority of Utahns (81.8%) agreed that Utah leaders should take action to close the gender pay gap.
"There seems to be little concern from state government leaders to ensure gender equity with educational and pay opportunities," said one respondent.
Sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination
Similar to how people felt about the gender pay gap, most Utahns believe the state has a problem with sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination.
Conversely, only 6.2% of participants in the combined samples said they disagreed at any level with the statement.
When it comes to trusting organizations in Utah to appropriately handle a sexual harassment report, Utahns are more split, with 39.9% agreeing and 43.6% disagreeing that organizations in the state would appropriately handle such a report.
More so than with the gender pay gap, respondents (272) mentioned cultural and religious influences being connected to gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment in the survey's open-ended questions.
According to the report, the study and the white paper were designed to support "A Bolder Way Forward," the statewide movement focused on ensuring that more Utah girls, women and their families thrive.
"The vision of (Bolder Way Forward) is not to lift girls and women at the expense of boys and men — that is a fallacious scarcity mentality. Instead, we believe in the abundance mentality: There is enough for everyone through cooperation and collaboration. As Utah decision-makers and residents join to find ways to strengthen the impact of girls and women more effectively, more Utah women and families will feel connected to our state's well-known mantra: 'This Is the Place,'" said the report.
"And, in fact, when more women can feel like 'This is Her Place,' too, we will know Utah is finally becoming a place where women believe they are truly valued."
