Utah comes in first in many civic-related rankings — it’s the top state for volunteerism, and its capital, Salt Lake City, has also been ranked among the “most patriotic cities.” However, there’s a list in which the state continues to lag behind its counterparts — voting and civic engagement among women.
While that number has been making its way up, it has also fluctuated in recent years, with the state ranking No. 29 out of 51 in the 2024 women’s turnout list, which also includes Washington, D.C., from Utah State University’s Utah Women & Leadership Project. The state’s performance is lower than last year, when it ranked 24 out of 51.
It’s however also a long way from the Utah Women & Leadership Project’s 2006 numbers, which placed the state in the 51st spot.
The report painted a picture of Utah’s voting history, from the suffrage movement in the state’s early days including high Latter-day Saint support for votes for women with the idea that they would express support for polygamy, to Seraph Young, Brigham Young’s grand-niece, becoming the first woman to vote, to Utah women leading the nation in voter turnout in the late 20th century. But more recently, the state has fallen into the bottom voting participation spots nationwide.
“Women’s voting turnout and political participation have drastically improved since 2010, and Utah has more women serving in the state legislature than ever before,” the report’s authors wrote. “However, as Utah is still below national averages in terms of political representation and consistently ranks among the worst states for women’s equality.”
There are different factors that affect voting rates nationwide, including ethnicity, marital status and education levels — white women, married women and women with advanced degrees are most likely to vote, according to the study.
“According to one report, inflation, including the rising cost of household expenses, was the most important issue for US women, followed by threats to democracy and immigration/border security,” according to the study. “An increased number of women ranked abortion as their most important issue, most likely due to the emphasis of reproductive rights in the Harris-Walz campaign.”
Utah women’s priorities in the 2024 elections were housing affordability, politicians listening to voters, inflation and government overreach, among others, according to the Utah Foundation. Women also tended to prioritize abortion and women’s rights while men ranked issues like crime and immigration higher up.
Utah women civically show up in other ways, however. They often express policy disagreements through boycotts, protests, contacting the press, and lobbying and interacting with politicians, according to the study.
An example of those efforts were substantial in 2024, when the League of Women Voters of Utah and Mormon Women for Ethical Government challenged Constitutional Amendment D, which ultimately led to the Utah Supreme Court voiding the amendment.
But, amid some wins, Utah women face challenges, “including the persistent lack of public support and funding for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence and for efforts that focus on the prevention of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child sexual abuse,” the study says.
Among other concerns affecting women in the state are also gender pay gaps, lack of child care, sexual harassment, gender-based discrimination, gender-specific workforce development challenges, and elements of women’s health across the lifespan.
While voting rates have risen in the state, there’s still room for improvement, the authors said.
“Research shows that when young people participate in politics and their community, it shapes their future, and our communities benefit from their perspectives. Equally true, when women and men lead together, organizations, communities, individuals, and families benefit. By empowering more women to take active roles in their communities, we can create a more inclusive, equitable, and thriving Utah for generations to come.”
This report was originally published at UtahNewsDispatch.com.
