Gender Pay Gap

Although the gender pay gap has narrowed since the signing of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, women still earn 82 cents for every dollar a man earns in the U.S. and approximately 70.2 cents in the state of Utah. The gap is even wider for Utah women of color. Depending on the metric, Utah is ranked between 45th and 50th as one of the worst states for this gap. The Gender Pay Gap spoke focuses on narrowing this gap through bringing together organizations and individuals who want to work on societal and institutional change. This includes, but not limited to, efforts around identifying and sharing best practices, considering and changing culture, finding ways to shift messaging, encouraging and expanding education and resources, creating opportunities and pathways, increasing male allyship, and engaging in strategic public policy. To learn more, listen to the spoke leaders discuss the work on this 15-minute podcast.

Spoke Leaders

Bold Vision & Goals

To make Utah a place where more girls and women can thrive, the Gender Pay Gap spoke leaders and partners have crafted the vision and goals below. Spoke leadership and UWLP team members are currently working to collect baseline data that will assist in adding numbers to the changes we want to see by 2026 and 2030.

Vision: Substantially narrow the gender pay gap in the state of Utah by 2030. 

Goals: 

1. Narrow the gender pay gap and move up in the state rankings on WalletHub’s “Gender Disparity in Wage Gap from 50th in 2023 to 47th in 2026, and 45th in 2030. [Metric]
2. Increase the percent of women in the higher income earning category ($100,000+) from 5.6% to 7.5% by 2026 and to 10% by 2030. [Metric]
3. Increase Utahns’ level of agreement that the pay gap exists. [Data forthcoming]
4. Decrease Utahns’ level of agreement that the gender pay gap is solely women’s choices. [Data forthcoming]
5. Increase Utahn’s perception that the gender pay gap is, at least in part, a public issue that needs public policy solutions. [Data forthcoming]
6. Increase Utah’s perception women make less money than male counterparts even with same/similar experience, education and position. [Data forthcoming]

Partners