The Status of Women in Utah Politics

Although Utah has a rich heritage of women’s involvement in voting, advocacy, and various types of political participation, for decades Utah has lagged most states in terms of women running for and serving in elected political roles. To track progress, the Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP) began reporting on the status of women in Utah politics in 2014, with updates in 2017, 2021, 2022, and 2023 (published in February). Although strides have been made in increasing the number of women serving in political roles in recent years, there is still work to be done. 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.??

UWLP’s research and policy brief, “The Status of Women in Utah Politics: A 2023 Update,” provides both Utah and national data for the following seven areas: Congress, statewide executive offices, state legislatures, counties, mayors, city councils, and boards of education.

The results show some progress in more women serving in public office. Yet, there is still work to be done. Here is a summary of the findings:?

• U.S. Congress:?0.0% of the Utah delegation to Congress is female, compared to 27.9% nationally.?
• Statewide Executive Office:?20.0% of the Utah SEO seats are held by women, compared to 30.3% nationally.?
• State Legislature:?26.0% of Utah State legislators are women, compared to 32.7% nationally.?
• Counties:?20.7% of Utah county commission and council seats are held by women, compared to 38.8% of the predominately full-time elected positions of clerk/auditor, treasurer, recorder, assessor, attorney, surveyor, and sheriff.?
• Mayors:?23.8% of Utah mayors are now women, which is a 6.5% increase from 2021 and a 14.7% increase from 2017. More of Utah’s larger cities are being led by women (up to 13 from 3 in 2017).??
• City Councils:?29.8% of council members in Utah municipalities are female, which puts Utah below the national average of 32.0%.??
• Boards of Education:?Utah is at least average, if not slightly above, the national average for women holding district board seats.?

The last few years have been record-setting years for women running for office across the country, and we are seeing some slight progress in Utah as well. When more women run, more women win. Through the years, the lack of women running for office has been one of many challenges related to why Utah does not have more women serving in elected public office. While we believe the tide is turning, understanding, and removing the barriers women face when running for public office in Utah are critical to moving forward.

In other UWLP reports, we have explored several factors accounting for why more women do not run for office, including societal attitudes, poor treatment of female candidates who do run, biases in party politics toward traditional practices that keep women from running and networking, and the way women are treated by the media (see An Analysis of Utah Media: Women & Politics and Perceptions of Women Elected Officials in Utah: Challenges, Benefits, and Lessons Learned.??

This research should be beneficial as a benchmark for measuring improvement in years to come. It was also written as a call to action for Utah residents and leaders to do more to encourage and support future efforts to diversify voices on Utah’s Capitol Hill and in cities, towns, and counties around the state. Although there has been some progress in recent years, we encourage Utah leaders and residents to do more to implement and support these efforts.?

A Bolder Way Forward is a Call to Action

A critical effort underway now is the recent launch of the statewide initiative, “A Bolder Way Forward.” One of the 18 areas of focus is Political Representation, Boards and Commissions, and Civic Engagement/Advocacy. Three initial working groups are currently crafting bold goals for 2026 and 2030. You can learn more about these efforts and view the initial outcomes/goals and updates as they come in here. Join this movement!

To learn more about the status of women in Utah politics, read?the full brief.

Dr. Susan R. Madsen is a global thought leader, author, speaker, and scholar on the topic of women and leadership. She is also the Karen Haight Huntsman Endowed Professor of Leadership in the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University and the Founding Director of the?Utah Women & Leadership Project. We acknowledge Christina Sloan and Keola Enos for collecting the 2023 data and for the contributions of authors on previous versions.

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