LOGAN, Utah -- A new research and policy brief published Tuesday by the Utah Women & Leadership Project at Utah State University is taking a look at how women in the state have fared during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The study was based on the responses of 3,500 Utah women to various questions about their experiences through the past year's events.
“We’ve got a good feeling of kind of where women stand on these issues,” said Dr. Susan Madsen, the director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project. “I think it's important as a state for us to do this research specifically on Utah women to really see not only what's happening to women but to families in the state.”
Click here to read the full study.
The study found that around 16% of women had major job turn transitions, which is close to the national statistics as well.
Most if not all women in Utah experienced some kind of burnout within the pandemic, the study found. Much of this had to do with combining both work and home life, or just being at home potentially with kids who were out of school.
Women of color also experienced slightly higher levels of burnout during the pandemic.
But one of the more troubling statistics revolves around domestic violence during the pandemic.
Madsen says that 9.2% of women stated: “I am concerned about the onset of or increase in violence in my home since the pandemic began” as a part of the study.
"To me, that was a big percentage," she said.
Other statistics show that it will take about five years for the workforce to fully recover from the effects of the pandemic itself. However, through careful policy both at a governmental level and at a company level, those effects can be minimized.
On the bright side, the study also showed that women are hopeful -- and that with signs of the end of the pandemic, some of that stress is going away.
When asked “What is your message to people that through this have really struggled?”
Madsen had a message for people who have really struggled through the pandemic.
“There is hope out there,” she said. “There are programs out there that really do help retool… get opportunities… there are resources.”
Many of those resources can be found on the Utah Women & Leadership Project's website.