Policy expert, report question effect of diversity, equity and inclusion law on women in leadership

SALT LAKE CITY — One Utah policy expert called Utah's anti-diversity, equity and inclusion initiative law "a big setback" for women in K-12 education leadership, two years after the law's inception.

"I look at the research on what's happened there, and then all of my experience through the decades, is saying that that legislation really is negatively impacting women in this state," said Susan Madsen, extension professor of leadership at Utah State University and founding director of the USU Utah Women and Leadership Project.

A new report by the project, "The Status of Women Leaders in Public Education (K–12): A 2026 Update," released on Wednesday, looks into whether the bill dealing with DEI initiatives has affected women leaders in Utah's K-12 education system since it passed in 2024.

The report finds some improvements in the numbers of women in K-12 leadership roles, while some areas for growth to catch up with national averages.

2024 law

The so-called DEI bill, HB261, broadly prohibited "discriminatory" practices by targeting, among other things, initiatives at higher education institutions geared toward specific groups rather than the general population. Women's centers were singled out for elimination like centers for Latinos or Black people per HB261 because they're meant to serve a particular "identity" population, not any and all comers. Universities made the call to eliminate them based on their legal advisers' interpretation of the law.

Although the centers were located in higher educational settings, HB261 took away a desperately needed resource that focused specifically on the needs and experiences of women, according to Madsen.

"Those were the places on campuses where students, women, who were in poverty, who had experienced sexual assault and domestic violence, were first-generation students — that's where they went to have a safe space and to get help," Madsen said.

Madsen added that more time needs to pass in order to fully understand whether women in K-12 education leadership have been affected by the passing of HB261.

The Utah Women in Leadership Project report noted that it's unclear "whether this shift has affected the hiring and advancement of women in state government."

The Utah Women and Leadership Project itself was also impacted by budget cuts passed on the last day of Utah's 2026 Legislative Session.

"We found out that most of our legislative funding was taken, which impacts my entire staff for the most part and a lot of the support that we were giving to counties around the state to do the work that needs to be done," Madsen said.

Some of that work included reducing violence against women and children and increasing opportunities for women, like starting businesses, according to Madsen.

KSL reached out to the governor's office for a comment on the Utah Women in Leadership Project's report but has not yet received a response.

2026 report's findings

Roughly every four years, since 2014, the Utah Women and Leadership Project releases new data it collects to compare Utah's K-12 education women leaders with national and past state data.

The report highlights boards of education, state offices of education leadership, district superintendents, district staff directors and principals.

"In summary, over the last four years, women's representation in leadership positions has increased on the Utah State Board of Education, on school district boards of education, among district superintendents, and among principals and assistant principals at most school levels in both public and charter schools," the report said. "Women's representation plateaued among state superintendents. Decreases in women holding leadership roles occurred among public high school principals."

The research published serves as a baseline to help people understand where Utah is with women serving as K-12 education leaders and where improvements need to be made. But at the end of the day, Madsen said equality is key.

"The research tells us when there's more equal numbers of men and women serving in leadership roles together, that's really where you get the best decisions, the most creative decisions, the highest and strongest collective intelligence," Madsen said.

Among key findings:

• Women comprise 66.7% of the Utah State Board of Education, an increase compared to 2022, when that percentage was 60%.
• Women hold 51.3% of leadership positions across Utah's state and district education systems, while men hold 48.7%. In 2022, the percentage was completely even at 50%.
• Women account for 18.2% of district superintendents, an increase of 6% since 2022. The national average is 35.8%.

Madsen added that it's important for students in K-12 educational settings to see both men and women serving as leaders, whether that's as principals, superintendents or even teachers.

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