Our First Think Tank Brief

I Do? 

A SERIES TO HELP UTAHNS ENGAGE 

NO. 20 | MAY 23, 2022 

What Utah County Leaders and Residents Can Do to  

Strengthen the Impact of Girls and Women in Their Area 

Utah County is full of engaged, passionate individuals who frequently ask the question, “What can  I do to strengthen the impact of girls and women in this area?” To provide specific answers to that  question, the Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP) and Utah State University (USU) Extension  hosted a “think tank” gathering to collect ideas for individuals, groups, and organizations interested  in supporting and empowering girls and women in their area. 

This idea sheet is based on a 2022 gathering of 38 leaders in Utah  County. Girls and women face challenges unique to the area in which  they live, and the goal of this gathering was to identify those barriers  and determine strategies and initiatives that local leaders and  residents can implement to address them. This document includes  recommendations in the following areas: education, health and  wellbeing, home and family, business and economics, culture and  religion, and community engagement. 

EDUCATION 

Leaders in Utah County emphasized the essential role schools play  in developing leadership confidence and competence in girls and  young women through curriculum and opportunities. Ensuring that  women complete high school and obtain college certificates and  degrees is critically important to continue a woman’s development.  Recommendations include: 

• Emphasize that girls and young women do not need to choose  their future at a young age as there is power in exploring hobbies,  nurturing interests, accepting opportunities, trying something new,  and that they can be and do many things.  

• Recognize and address gender bias at school, use inclusive  language, and promote opportunities for all students. 

• Utilize curriculum that teaches emotional intelligence. 

• Inform girls about the variety of options they have for college  majors and careers, including science, technology, engineering, and  math (STEM).  

• Teach the importance of college education to girls and young women  through stories, role models, and by emphasizing the influence of a  mother who finishes her own education.  

• Reinforce the value of earned certificates and degrees by asking  women how they use the knowledge, experience, and skills in  their lives.  

• Support women in pursuing graduate degrees with resources and  mentoring; help them pivot directions and reallocate resources when  needed to sustain their educational journey.  

HEALTH & WELLBEING 

Concern over the mental health and emotional wellbeing for girls  and women in Utah County emerged as a primary theme. Negative  self-esteem, poor body image, and low confidence levels are  compounded when women criticize and judge each other. Further,  the pervasive influence of social media cannot be overstated.  Recommendations include: 

• Empower girls and women to speak up and advocate for themselves. • Normalize consent by teaching how to set and enforce boundaries. 

• Eliminate the pressure to be perfect by encouraging girls and  women to take risks and reframe failure as an integral component in  the growth process. 

• Encourage women to support one another through recognizing  positive and varied forms of personal development, celebrating  accomplishments, and helping each other set and achieve goals.  

• Counter negative social media influences by: teaching that  algorithms manipulate information, sharing positive messages,  highlighting girls and women who succeed, complimenting skills and  strengths, and minimizing comments about physical appearance. 

HOME & FAMILY 

In Utah County, the setting and role of home and family are  foundational as this is where children first learn about their roles and  potential, as well as expectations for behavior, boundaries, choices,  opportunities, and gender roles. Girls often receive mixed messages  as parents want their daughters to dream big, but many mothers do  not participate in or pursue education, hobbies, or activities outside the  home. Recommendations include:  

• Inspire girls to investigate a myriad of life choices including marriage,  motherhood, education, and careers. Reinforce that they can do and  be more than one thing at a time, and honor the choices they make.  

• Prepare girls for a life that will likely veer from what is planned and  expected by exposing them to real-life mentors and role models. Help  them set realistic expectations rather than hope for a fairy-tale future. 

• Teach boys how to be a supportive husband and involved father.  

• Reevaluate gender roles for women and men and adjust  responsibilities to distribute unpaid work responsibilities more evenly.  

BUSINESS & ECONOMICS 

In the business sector, Utah County women struggle with perception— both how they see themselves and how they are seen. While many  women work part-time jobs, there are not as many women in full-time  jobs or leadership positions. Women may be overlooked for these  positions or required to perform at higher levels to prove their value  to an organization. Recommendations include: 

• Host career fairs to expose girls and women to male-dominated  industries, nontraditional careers, and new innovative opportunities. 

• Provide training and mentoring to help women learn the value of  the unpaid work they do at home and how it transfers to a resume  and professional work experience, apply for jobs that stretch  them, negotiate salary and schedules, change careers, and pursue  leadership roles. 

• Call out and challenge conscious and unconscious bias (e.g., women  completing their education to pursue a career as a back-up plan, the  gender wage gap, lack of female leadership). 

• Urge businesses to conduct an internal review of their DEI policies  and the flexibility of their workplaces and make adjustments  as needed.  

• Increase the number of women on boards and in leadership  positions; ensure they receive the title that reflects the work they  do so there are visible role models of female leadership.  

• Leverage capital into community and nonprofit organizations that  women run, and recognize the workplace equivalent of their unpaid  community work and leadership experience.  

• Encourage businesses and nonprofit organizations to evaluate  the demographics they serve and expand their influence to reach  more girls and women.  

• Highlight and recognize businesses that support women.  

CULTURE & RELIGION 

The “think tank” attendees acknowledged that the culture (why and how  we do what we do) in Utah County is heavily influenced by religion, which  often makes it difficult to separate the two. Recommendations include: 

• Instill leadership traits in girls and young women by giving them  leadership opportunities and supportive training at a young age.  

• Include all genders in activities that have been gender exclusive (e.g.,  outdoor adventures, sports).  

• Create opportunities for girls and women to connect outside of  religious structures; invite all girls and women to participate  regardless of race, age, or religious membership. 

• Reexamine traditions and discard those that limit the growth and  potential of girls and women. Create new traditions that value  women’s choices (e.g., education, politics, family, career). 

• Develop a culture that encourages girls and women to report  harassment, assault, and/or violence, and one that supports them  through the process. 

• Provide mentoring and training for men who need help redefining  positive masculinity, setting and respecting boundaries, and  interacting with women in a healthy and comfortable manner.  

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT 

Utah County leaders appreciate the strengths inherent in this unique  location including its high rate of volunteerism and its value of family.  They also recognize the lack of strong female role models in every  area this report addresses, as well as the negative and even “liberal”  stereotypes that exist when women speak out, assert themselves, and  lead. Recommendations include:  

• Share historical and contemporary stories of girls and women who  experience challenges, failures, and successes to increase confidence,  collaboration, and healthy competition. Counter negative images of  women in the media (e.g., “Real Housewives,” “16 & Pregnant”).  

• Create mentoring programs, groups, and networks to normalize,  teach, and support women as leaders. 

• Identify potential female political candidates, encourage them to  run for office at all levels, and train and support them through  the process.  

• Continue conversations to address issues and create  sustainable change. 

• Empower male allies who will advocate for girls and women in  multiple spheres.  

CONCLUSION 

When we listen and respond to concerns regarding the needs of girls  and women in Utah County, we will be better able to change harmful  or ineffective policies and programs, sustain current effective actions  and leaders, identify and solve local problems, and create responsive  initiatives. The UWLP encourages leaders and residents to use this  

document as needed to affect change. 

Utah Women & Leadership Project • www.utwomen.org • uwlp@usu.edu 

Thank you to Curtis Blair of the Utah Valley Chamber, Cindy Jenkins of USU Extension, community volunteer Karen Hill, and to the many  collaborators and partners in Utah County who supported the community conversation. Report authors: Angie Kleven & Dr. Susan R. Madsen. 

Utah State University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity institution and is committed to a learning and working environment free from discrimination, including harassment. For USU’s non-discrimination notice, see equity.usu.edu/non-discrimination.