Group says to strengthen the impact of women & girls, emulate practices of companies already doing it

UTAH WOMEN & LEADERSHIP PROJECT

Brice Wallace 

An organization looking to strengthen the impact of Utah girls and women has simple advice for companies wanting to do the same: imitate what other companies are doing.

Implementing the best practices of companies that have put in place family-friendly policies and women-focused initiatives are among the recommendations of the Utah Women & Leadership Project. The policies and initiatives, listed in a data study of the second year of the “100 Companies Championing Women” campaign, have aimed to improve recruiting, hiring, retaining, and advancing women employees and leaders.

The study report comes amid Utah being ranked last among states by Wallet-Hub for women’s equality for the ninth consecutive year, with the state also last in workplace environment, education and health, the gender income gap, the gender work hours gap and the educational attainment gap; No. 41 for political empowerment; and No. 48 for the largest executive positions gap. Another recent study, by Wix.com, ranks Utah No. 41 for offering opportunities for aspiring women entrepreneurs.

“Research on the importance of implementing flexible and family-friendly workplace policies and practices has been well-documented,” said Susan Madsen, founding director of the UWLP and co-author of its research and policy brief report with UWLP Associate Director Kolene Anderson. “There is a direct link between implementing these strategies and the retention and advancement of women. Analyzing the benefits, policies and practices of the organizations listed in the 2024 ‘100 CCW’ provides a sampling of what cutting-edge Utah businesses of all sizes are doing to support employees and their families and provides best practices other companies can consider.”

The 100 CCW program was launched in 2022 by UWLP, the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity and the Cox–Henderson administration as part of the “Inspire In Utah” campaign’s mandate to support women in the workplace at all levels, including entrepreneurship. The listed companies incorporated family-friendly policies and practices and have implemented programs to improve recruiting, hiring, retaining, and advancing women employees and leaders.

The second-year program study indicates that the most noted family-friendly policies and women-focused initiatives included flexible work hours (98 percent) and remote work (91 percent); pay equity efforts (89 percent); work to diversify the managers and leaders at mid-to-senior levels (84 percent); and paid family leave (69 percent).

The 100 companies offered a variety of flexible work policies and benefits in addition to flexible work hours and remote work. They include part-time professional roles (51 percent), a compressed work week (43 percent), part-time employment with benefits (25 percent) and job-sharing (7 percent).

Among family-specific policies and benefits, the most noted were paid family leave (69 percent), unpaid family leave (64 percent), back-to-work maternity support (58 percent), childcare support (34 percent), and adoption and fertility benefits (27 percent), the report says.

The report notes that childcare remains a top concern for women employed in Utah. Child care benefits offered by companies include flex spending accounts, child care reimbursement, or cash bonuses for the birth of a child. Eight of the 100 companies offer on-site child care, and some even offer services to the surrounding community.

“Fortunately, many Utah companies are taking the lead in offering employee initiatives and benefits that are making a positive difference,” Madsen said. “Highlighting the best practices of these organizations can help Utah’s employers better understand how to implement policies and create workplace cultures that support women and families.”

About half of the 100 companies, across various industries, are in Salt Lake County and about 26 percent are in Utah County. Almost one-third had fewer than 24 employees, and only 10 percent had 1,000 or more.

Among other UWLP recommendations are encouraging workplaces in public entities, such as local and state governments, schools and universities, to follow the same recommendations as businesses, and encouraging legislators to consider and support research-based public policies that will help Utahns have more family-friendly workplace environments.

“We urge all businesses and entities to consider organizational-level strategies and programs, including family-friendly practices and policies, to support all employees and help them thrive,” Madsen said. “The representation of women in businesses around the state can be increased, which is important to ensure that more women and their families can thrive. Strengthening the impact of women will strengthen Utah’s economy and communities.”