The Utah Women in Leadership Project recently published a report on women’s voting and civic engagement habits.
According to the report, Beehive State women ranked 29 out of 51 for voter turnout in 2024. As for civic engagement, Utah women prioritized housing affordability, politicians listening to voters, inflation and government overreach in 2024 elections.
Co-author Kolene Anderson said the report also found Utahns, men and women, engage in a vital aspect of civic engagement: volunteer work and community service. It also references a 2023 study by the Cicero Group, which found “Utahns donated five times more than the lowest-ranking state for annual donations (West Virginia) while volunteering twice as many hours as the lowest-ranking state in volunteerism (Florida).”
“Utahns in general show up for volunteer opportunities and women especially, they are very willing to volunteer in official capacities,” Anderson said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Friday, June 27. “So in other words, like organizations where there's specific volunteer activity that they're recruiting for and asking people to help and participate.”
But Anderson said Utah needs more women in elected office. According to a February 2025 report from the Women and Leadership Project, Utah lags “far behind” in gender equality, which includes the presence of women in elected posts.
The state has never elected a female governor or U.S. Senate representative. Anderson said Utah consistently ranks in the bottom for women’s equality because the Beehive State has fewer women serving in the state legislature than other states.
“Women make up 50% of Utah's population,” said. “So when only 20% of the legislative positions are filled by women, then there's this gap there in representation, and that matters. It matters not just for women, it matters for Utah families.”
According to the February 2025 report, Utah has no all-female city councils, but has 50 all-male councils. Of the all-male councils, 12 have a female mayor and 38 are all-male across the board.
In Summit County, the Oakley is male across the board. In Francis and Henefer, one of four councilmembers is female. Kamas has three women on its city council and Coalville’s council has two.
Park City has Summit County’s only female mayor and of the city’s five councilmembers, just one is a woman.
In Wasatch County, the five-member Heber City and Midway councils also have one female member. Two of four councilmembers in Hideout are women and one of three is female in Wallsburg. Heber, Midway and Wallsburg all have female mayors.
As for county councils, Summit and Wasatch are among five counties in the state that have county councils instead of county commissions. Of Summit County’s five councilmembers, two are women. In Wasatch County, one of seven councilmembers is female.
Across the state, women hold one-third of county council positions and almost 21% of county commissioner spots.
According to the report, women are more likely to hold other elected county positions. Over 62% of county clerk and almost 66% of county treasurer seats are held by women.
