UWLP Blog - Faith

Did you miss this Spring Women's Leadership Forum? Don't worry! You can read about it and watch the full recording here.

Read about our Spring Forum event with Sheri Dew and Dr. Susan Madsen and find the link to the full recording in this blog recap.

Understanding the relationship between gender and those who are in positions to influence agenda-setting strategies and public policy can translate into behavior-changing actions. Identifying and mitigating persistent challenges and barriers clears the way for enhanced opportunities for women’s equal representation across state agencies and leadership levels. This shift will benefit not only women and government organizations, but also families, communities, and the state as a whole.

Religious and faith-based organizations are of vital importance to many individuals and families, and these leaders recognize the positive role they can have in the lives of Utah women and girls.

Utah is below the national average in terms of women holding leadership roles within nearly all settings (e.g., state boards and commissions, business, education, government, politics, and religious).

This idea sheet is based on a 2019 gathering of 30 Young Women leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (hereafter, “the Church”) in Utah. Since around 60% of Utahns identify as members of the Church, these leaders have the potential to influence a large segment of Utah teens.

Utah’s population is growing and changing. While Utah maintains its signature demographics, it is also trending toward the nation in key metrics. Utah is becoming more ethnically diverse, fertility is decreasing, and migration has become a constant and significant source of population growth.

Five inspirational women from around the state spoke on this season’s theme: Finding our voices and the courage to use them. Each speaker had a unique take on what it means to tap into one’s unique voice. The evening was a powerful reminder of how difficult it can be for women to identify their authentic voice.

In 2016, American women earned approximately 20% less than men. Compared to White men, White women earn 75.3%, Black women earn 63.3%, Native American women earn 57.7%, and Hispanic/Latina women earn 54.4%. These numbers are comparing median earnings of full time, year-round work between men and women.

Approximately 80% of U.S. women do not like how they look; furthermore, research shows that poor body image affects girls and women worldwide. Body image is “the perception that a person has of their physical self and the thoughts and feelings that result from that perception.

In this blog we highlight the results from the first two research questions analyzed: “Why does Utah struggle with getting more women in leadership roles?” and “What do you think about Utah women, leadership, and confidence?” Data on these questions were gathered from the UWLP LinkedIn group.

There are some days when the weight of my responsibilities and my physical limitations are poignant. It’s almost enough to make you crazy to think that you can’t just jump in a car and go wherever you want to go—that you have to get a ride with someone or pay for a taxi.

As a result of my egalitarian upbringing, it had never occurred to me that I could not have both a family and a career (after all, my mom did). I was seventeen before I encountered a certain idea typically prevalent within my faith culture: that good, worthy motherhood was only of the full-time stay-at-home variety.