Study shows good news, bad news for women in Utah politics

The article written by Genelle Pugmire discusses that women's representation is far from parity in Utah, citing RepresentWomen's Gender Parity Index. Read an except below:

Since 2014, the Utah Women and Leadership Project under the direction of Susan Madsen has been following the status of women in politics. The project’s latest survey numbers, released this week, offer a mix of good news and bad news for women.

While researchers look at all levels of politics — national, state, county and city — across the U.S., there is a greater focus on women in Utah and their political involvement.

“Although Utah has a rich heritage of women’s involvement in voting, 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,” the research team concludes.

Research continues to confirm that when both men and women serve together in communities, counties and states, all residents are better served and are more likely to thrive.

The study notes that overall, while Utah women have continually gained elected office since 2014, Utah still ranks last in WalletHub’s “Best & Worst States for Women’s Equality” with four of 17 key indicators being focused on political empowerment and coming in 47th of 50 states on the Represent Women’s “Gender Parity Index,” which measures women’s political representation.

Read the full article here.