Gender Pay Gap                                                                                                 

Although the gender pay gap has narrowed since the signing of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, women still earn 82 cents for every dollar a man earns in the U.S. and approximately 70.2 cents in the state of Utah. The gap is even wider for Utah women of color. Depending on the metric, Utah is ranked between 45th and 50th as one of the worst states for this gap. The Gender Pay Gap spoke focuses on narrowing this gap through bringing together organizations and individuals who want to work on societal and institutional change. This includes, but not limited to, efforts around identifying and sharing best practices, considering and changing culture, finding ways to shift messaging, encouraging and expanding education and resources, creating opportunities and pathways, increasing male allyship, and engaging in strategic public policy. To learn more, listen to the spoke leaders discuss the work on this 15-minute podcast.

Spoke Leaders

Bold Vision & Goals

To make Utah a place where more girls and women can thrive, the Gender Pay Gap spoke leaders and partners have crafted the vision and goals below. Spoke leadership and UWLP team members are currently working to collect baseline data that will assist in adding numbers to the changes we want to see by 2026 and 2030.

Vision: Substantially narrow the gender pay gap in the state of Utah by 2030.

Goals: 

1. Narrow the gender pay gap and move up in the state rankings on WalletHub’s "Gender Disparity in Wage Gap" from 50th in 2023 to 47th in 2026, and 44th in 2030. [Metric Dashboard]
2. Increase the percent of women in the higher income earning category ($100,000+) from 11.2% to 16.5% by 2026 and to 21.0% by 2030. [Metric Dashboard]
3. Increase research, including longitudinal, around the prevalence of and reasons for the wide gender pay gap in Utah by conducting at least two academically rigorous comprehensive, statewide studies. [Metric Dashboard]
4. Change Utahns’ agreement (understanding and perceptions) in the following areas: [Metric Dashboard]
   1. I believe a gender pay gap exists in Utah. [Increase agreement by 5% by 2026 and 12% by 2030]
   2. Utah women make less money than their male counterparts even when they have the same/similar experience, education, and position. [Increase agreement by 5% by 2026 and 12% by 2030]
   3. Utah’s pay gap exists because of women’s own choices (e.g., career breaks, educational choices, lack of experience, job industry). [Decrease agreement by 5% by 2026 and 12% by 2030]. 
   4. Utah leaders should take action to close the gender pay gap. [Increase agreement by 5% by 2026 and 12% by 2030]

Thriving Statement: Women thrive when all individuals who have a similar background, education, and years in the labor force earn equal pay.

Partners

Working Group Leaders

• Corporate: Tammy Anton (Vice President and Banker, J.P. Morgan)
• Data: Mou Nandi (Co-Founder, Monere)
• Education/Communication: Misti Williams Valente (Senior Business Development, Spherion)
• Legislation: Paul Clayson (Chief Executive Officer and Board Member, AgilePQ)