Research & Policy Brief

This research paper by Utah State University discusses the status of women in Utah Politics, citing RepresentWomen's Gender Parity Index report. Read an excerpt below:

Although Utah has a rich heritage of women’s involvement invoting, advocacy, and various types of political involvement,Utah has lagged behind most states in terms of women running for and serving in elected political roles for decades. Totrack progress, the Utah Women & Leadership Project(UWLP) began reporting on the status of women in Utahpolitics in 2014, with updates in 2017, 2021, and now 2022.Although strides have been made in increasing the number ofwomen serving in political roles in recent years, there is stillwork to be done. Research continues to confirm that whenboth men and women serve together in communities, counties, and states, all residents are better served and are morelikely to thrive.1 Overall, while Utah women have continuallygained elected seats since 2014, Utah still ranks last in WalletHub’s “Best & Worst States for Women’s Equality”2 (withfour of 17 key indicators being focused on political empowerment) and 47th of 50 states on the Represent Women’s“Gender Parity Index,” 3 which measures women’s politicalrepresentation.This report updates the research and policy brief titled “TheStatus of Women in Utah Politics: A 2021 Update” and provides both Utah and national data for the following sevenareas: Congress, statewide executive offices, state legislatures, counties, mayors, city councils, and boards of education. The brief concludes with a summary of findings, mention of why more women do not run for public office, andlinks to related reports.

Read the full research report here.