UWLP Blog - STEM

Utah Women & Leadership Project has released a new research brief that highlights pockets of progress and explores persistent gaps in Utah’s K–12 STEM pipeline, postsecondary education, and workforce participation for women and girls.

The Utah State University Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP) recently published a research snapshot, “Women and STEM—A 2025 Update,” that revisits and builds upon the findings of a similar 2022 report. The recent report offers an expanded snapshot of how STEM is shaping the lives of women, girls, and families in Utah. This update explores key developments in education, employment, barriers, and emerging opportunities within the STEM landscape.

Researchers conducted a study to establish a baseline of public perceptions about the awareness, understanding, and attitudes around challenges Utah women and girls face. This summary includes leadership development, STEM fields, and male allyship.

Utah needs significant investment into efforts that encourage and mentor Utah girls and young women to pursue STEM education and careers, and industries must continue to improve the corporate climate to attract and retain women in STEM fields.

According to a recent article in Utah Business Magazine, Utah had the strongest job growth in the nation in 2018, with no signs of slowing down. Forbes ranked Utah second in their 2018 Best States for Business scorecard, moving it up from third the previous year. Given the increase in the number of high-tech firms in Utah, it should come as no surprise that many jobs are based in the STEM.

Female students’ (in K-12) achievement in mathematics and science is on par with their male peers and female students participate in high level mathematics and science courses at similar rates as their male peers, with the exception of computer science and engineering” (NSF, Science & Engineering Indicators, 2016).

Utah has improved its national ranking for individuals in science and engineering occupations as a percentage of all occupations: from 19th in 2013 to 13th in 2014.5 Yet, Utah women are not necessarily part of this growth, as they lag behind men in STEM participation.

Utah leaders have set a goal of having 66% of the state’s adults earn postsecondary degrees or vocational certificates by the year 2020. The goal is based on data from Georgetown University projecting that to remain competitive, Utah’s economy will need 66% of its population to have some form of postsecondary education by 2018.

Utah’s tech jobs pay 57% more than the state’s average wage, and the top 10 bachelor-degree majors with the highest median earnings are all in STEM fields. Dr. Cheryl Hanewicz, technology management department chair at UVU says, “There are not a lot of women in the fields, but these are the high-paying fields.”