Utah women earn only an average of 70 cents on the dollar compared to men — the biggest wage gap among the states. So the Salt Lake Chamber and the Women’s Leadership Institute released a battle plan Friday aiming to narrow it.
“The wage gap is real, and it hurts us. The good news is we can solve it,” said Pat Jones, CEO of the Women’s Leadership Institute and a former state senator. “We have a significant opportunity before us to be leaders in closing this gap.”
She noted that studies have suggested multiple reasons for the wage gap: Utah women have more children than average, causing absences that hurt their tenure and experience; they tend to choose lower-paying careers; they have lower graduation rates; and they suffer widespread gender discrimination in pay.