The Gender Wage Gap: Digging Deep into Understanding the Complexity

On August 18th, the Utah Women & Leadership Project held its first Women’s Leadership Forum of the academic year called “The Gender Wage Gap: Digging Deep into Understanding The Complexity.” This event was a panel discussion focused on understanding the wage gap issues in Utah. The event panel consisted of a powerhouse of Utah women leaders including Katie Hudman, Attorney with Employers Council; Senator Luz Escamilla, Utah Legislature & Vice President, Zions Bank; Carrie Mayne, Associate Commissioner for Workforce and Institutional Research, Utah System of Higher Education; and Erin Jemison, Manager of the Crime and Justice Institute & Former Director of Public Policy, YWCA Utah.

The United States gender wage gap is a persistent concern. Women in the U.S. make about 82% of what men make for comparable work. UWLP research previously found that the Utah statistics are much more extreme as Utah women make only 71% of what men make. There are a number of contributing factors to this wage gap. During this event, the panel discussed the influence of Utah culture, religion, occupational segregation and other important factors that contribute to the wage gap in Utah.

To learn more about the gender wage gap in Utah watch the full forum recording here.