LOGAN – At Utah State University, the Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP) exists to strengthen the impact of Utah girls and women.
But when WalletHub, a personal finance website, ranks Utah the worst state for women’s equality, UWLP stands ready with solutions.
While Utah’s leaders call their state the best-managed in America, WalletHub describes Utah’s disparity in income levels and share of executive positions for women. For the past eight years they also rank Utah 48 of 50 in workplace environment for women.
Last year, as part of the Inspire InUtah campaign to support women in the workplace, UWLP partnered with the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity to launch a one-year initiative “100 Companies Championing Women.”
For the report, researchers noted family-friendly practices of these organizations including flexible work hours, remote work, pay equity efforts and efforts to diversify managers and leaders at mid-to senior levels, in addition to paid family leave.
“There is a direct link between implementing these types of strategies and the retention and advancement of women,” said Susan Madsen, UWLP founding director.
She said it is important for businesses in Utah to increase the representation of women in companies, which ensures more women and their families can thrive.
According to a release from the organization, the UWLP summarized highlights of the best practices of these organizations, which were gathered from the one-year public campaign. The 100 companies selected represent a variety of sectors, including marketing, healthcare, insurance, nonprofit, technology, finance, retail, manufacturing, and arts.
Regarding the location of the companies, 55% were based in Salt Lake County; 25% were based in Utah County, 9% in Davis County, and 11% in other counties.
Overall, the most commonly noted family-friendly policies and women-focused initiatives included: flexible work hours and location, 90%; remote work, 87%; pay equity efforts, 84%; efforts to diversify managers and leaders at mid- to senior levels, 80%; and paid family leave, 76%.
The least-selected policies and initiatives included: tuition reimbursement, 10%; return-to-work programs, 19%; childcare support, 21%; job sharing, 21%; and part-time work with benefits, 26%.
In the area of “family-specific policies and benefits,” selections included: paid family leave, 76%; back-to-work maternity support, 68%; unpaid family leave, 66%; adoption and fertility benefits, 34%; and childcare support, 21%.