SALT LAKE CITY — A local Utah group is working to bring all different groups together to make a positive change as part of a multi-year movement to ensure that more women and girls in the state thrive in different settings.
Last week's Bolder Way Utah Summit offered a safe space for about 800 people to get together and brainstorm ways for women to thrive.
“We are constantly ranked as the worst state for women’s equality, we have higher rates, in fact, we’re seventh-worst in the nation as a state in terms of sexual assault and rape," explained Utah State professor of organizational leadership Susan Madsen. "We’re above the nation on negative things and we’re below the nation on things that are more positive.”
Whether it be in the workplace, in the community, or their own home, Madsen shared how these are places where they want to make a difference. To measure that change, they’re using a visual dashboard to display spokes on the wheel of change.
“There are ways to do a little bit to show progress," she said. "So, we at the Utah Women in Leadership project, which we are the backbone of the movement, we actually have a study that we do extensively to see our perceptions at least changing in certain areas, because it’s going to take a bit to get violence rates down and other opportunities up.”
The group partners with state and local governments, non-profits, and other organizations to help with research, and they’re hoping to see improvements by the fall.
“Everyone needs to be involved to make this work, and if you really care about girls and women in your life, whether it be your daughters, granddaughters, neighbors, your mother…this is a space to really lean in,” Madsen said.
A Bolder Way Forward is also helping people start businesses and work on professionalism.
