Utah Women & Leadership Podcast

This is the third episode that discusses sexist comments and responses with Dr. Susan Madsen, Founding Director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project, and Robbyn Scribner, lead researcher on this report series. This episode focuses on the last two reports in the sexist comments and responses brief series, focusing on stereotypes and undervaluing women. As in the other episodes in this series,...

“Sexual minority women” is defined in this podcast as those who do not identify as heterosexual (e.g., lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, asexual). They may face all the obstacles associated with identifying as a woman, in addition to possible discrimination or other disadvantages linked to their sexual orientation. Recently, the Utah Women & Leadership Project published a research snapshot on this...

In 2016, 46.9% of Utah female-headed households with related children under age 5 were living in poverty. Since then, the overall poverty rate in Utah has decreased 2.4%. However, over a third (36.4%) of that same demographic still live in poverty. Additionally, although Utahns experience lower rates of poverty than the national average (8.9% in Utah vs. 12.3% nationwide), more women continue to l...

The gender wage gap is the difference between what women and men earn for performing full-time, year-round paid work. In Utah, women earn approximately 30% less than men, ranking close to last in most state comparisons. In October of 2021, the UWLP published a research snapshot on the gender wage gap in Utah, updating the original report that was released four years ago. This episode explores some...

The benefits of physical activity are well documented and improve all aspects of health and overall wellbeing. Globally, on average, 37.1% of women are insufficiently physically active while only 23.4% of men are; this trend is also found in Utah, where 19.4% of women are insufficiently physically active while only 17.6% of men are. While women often live longer than men, they are frequently in wo...

This is the second episode that discusses sexist comments and responses with Dr. Susan Madsen, Founding Director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project; Robbyn Scribner, lead researcher on this report series; and Heather Sundahl, one of the coders of this report series. As in the first episode, it does not focus on what they have heard through the years personally, but is a discussion of an in...

This is the first of two episodes that discuss sexist comments and responses with Dr. Susan Madsen, Founding Director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project; Robbyn Scribner, lead researcher on this report series; and Heather Sundahl, one of the coders of this report series. It does not focus on what they have heard through the years personally, but instead is a discussion of an in-depth resea...

For the fourth year in a row, WalletHub has named Utah the worst state in the nation for women’s equality in their report “2021’s Best & Worst States for Women’s Equality,” released in August. To determine where women receive the most equal treatment, WalletHub’s analysis compared the 50 states across 17 key indicators of women’s equality. The indicators range from the gap between the number o...

Substance use disorders, including those stemming from the opioid epidemic, have reached crisis levels throughout the United States, and Utah is no exception. In 2017, more than 72,000 Americans died from drug overdoses, a number that has doubled in the past decade.  From 2013–2015, 776 Utah women died from a drug overdose. Women are more likely to be prescribed opioids and to develop an addiction...

The Utah Women & Leadership Project has a three-episode podcast series called “Understanding Gender.” In this episode, Dr. Susan Madsen, Founding Director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project, shares some of the research the UWLP has found that focuses on how understanding gender differences can actually help us raise girls—and boys, for that matter—to be more confident and competent. Th...

In this second episode of the “Understanding Gender” podcast series, Dr. Susan Madsen, Founding Director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project, explores research findings related to the biological and socialized differences between females and males in terms of sight, sound, smell, and communication. Support the show

In this third episode of the “Understanding Gender” podcast series, Dr. Susan Madsen, Founding Director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project, discusses research around the separate and distinct characteristics manifest in boys and girls and men and women in terms of risk, confidence, and empathy.  Support the show

Throughout much of history, women have been seen as an extension of their male relatives when it comes to finances. American women were not allowed to own property in their names until the mid-1800s, overt pay discrimination was legal until 1963, and women could not access credit on their own until 1974. It is only in the last half century or so that women in the US have been able to participate f...

Gender equality isn’t just about women; it’s about all of us. But while genuine equity is good for women and men, men are often absent from these conversations. This episode focuses on men’s engagement in gender equality, bringing you the highlights from an April 2021 Women’s Leadership Forum exploring this issue. Dr. Susan Madsen, Founding Director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project, is j...

For women, having a seat at the table does not mean having a voice. When women speak, they are interrupted more, listened to less, and perceived as less authoritative than men. This episode features highlights from a March 2020 Women’s Leadership Forum with Dr. Susan Madsen, Founding Director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project, and two professors at Brigham Young University: Dr. Jessica Pr...

Breast cancer is one of the most commonly occurring cancers among U.S. women and the primary cause of cancer death among women in Utah. Yet, research has found that deaths from breast cancer can be substantially reduced if the tumor is discovered early, and mammography screening is the most effective method for early detection. However, despite the advantages of mammography screening for reducing...

Did you know that one in four girls is sexually abused before age 18? That’s an estimated 42 million women in the United States. Violence against women remains largely unreported due to the impunity, silence, stigma, and shame surrounding it. The majority of survivors keep the abuse a secret for many years, and most don’t talk about the abuse until adulthood. As survivors carry the weight of their...

The gender wage gap is a persistent concern in the United States. Women make about 82% of what men make for comparable work and the numbers in Utah are more extreme, where a woman earns approximately 71 cents for each dollar a man earns. In fact, Utah is consistently near the bottom of national rankings in terms of gender pay equity.  This episode features highlights from an August 2020 online Wom...

The Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements have placed a spotlight on enduring racial and gender inequalities in the United States. Both movements were launched by Black women who continue to call attention to the intersections between race and gender in shaping opportunity and justice in America. This episode features highlights from a September 2020 online Women’s Leadership Forum. Dr. Susan Ma...

Impostor syndrome is a phenomenon that causes many women to doubt their accomplishments or talents and have a persistent fear of being exposed as unqualified, even when there is ample evidence of their competence. Perfectionism is one of the primary factors underlying this common experience, and it can negatively impact a woman’s confidence. This episode features highlights from a November 2020 on...

Salt Lake City has the second-highest number of plastic surgeons per capita in the United States, second only to Miami and ahead of Los Angeles. National media and scholars have puzzled over the high levels of plastic surgery among Utah women, and a national magazine even called Salt Lake City the “Vainest City in America.”  Many wonder why Salt Lake City, capital of one of the most religious stat...

In September 2013, the Center for American Progress released a report titled “The State of Women in America: A 50- State Analysis of How Women Are Faring Across the Nation.” This report ranks Utah last of all 50 states in terms of women being in positions of decision making and leadership. Although the focus is solely on the percentage of women in elected office and private sector management posit...

The Wall Street 24/7 recently published an article titled “The 10 Worst States for Women,” using rankings from various sources on gender wage gap, percentage of women in state legislatures, percentage of women in management positions, poverty rate of women, and infant mortality rate. Although Utah fared well on the last two, Utah was ranked as the worst state in the nation for women, with less tha...

Research has shown that most managers and top leadership teams do not fully realize the value of having women in key positions, and this is the case across all sectors, including business, government, political, nonprofit, K-12 and higher education, religious, and community. Depending on the entity, this may include women in both paid and unpaid roles ranging from positions such as supervisor, coo...

Although Utah research has shown that there has been slight progress in terms of women and leadership in some sectors, national sources continue to rank Utah as one of the worst states for women’s equality. Clearly there is still work to be done to “move the needle” so that more Utah women become leaders. Research continues to show that most managers and top leadership teams do not fully realize t...