Utah’s most women-friendly workplaces still need improvement, USU study finds

SALT LAKE CITY — Researchers from Utah State University’s Utah Women and Leadership Project have completed their final survey for their three-year project, Companies Championing Women. Their findings show that, even among Utah’s most women-friendly companies there is still work to be done.

In a survey sent to 100 companies in Utah that were nominated as the best companies for women, Dr. Susan Madsen, professor of leadership at USU and also the director of the Utah Women in Leadership Project, said they found many positive results. Ninety-four of these companies offered flexible hours and 83 offered remote work, even during a time when many companies are cutting back.

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“This shows that really great companies are still doing that. And what we know from the research is it’s critical — remote work, flexible work hours — is critical for women here in the state of Utah,” Madsen said.

More part time, more job sharing

She said companies could also invest in more part-time work or job-sharing programs.

“There’s a lot of women here in the state of Utah that want quality professional jobs. that are not full-time because they want to have flexibility to raise their children and so forth, yet a lot want to work and a lot need to work,” Madsen said. “Housing is expensive for people and families here in the state of Utah.”

She said job-sharing is a great option for women who want to work professional jobs, but don’t have time for full-time work. In a job sharing program, one full-time position is split between two workers.

In 2023, out of the 100 companies surveyed, 21 offered job sharing. In 2024 that number dropped to seven and in 2025 it’s down to five companies.

“I was really surprised that more companies are not grabbing onto that model because it’s been shown to be very effective,” Madsen said.

Child care in the workplace

Child care is another area where Madsen wants to see improvement. She said despite the discussions about child care in Utah and nationally, not much has changed. The survey found only 25 had any form of child care support.

‘To have seventy-five companies in this cohort that are really pretty good companies — great companies for women — still do so little in terms of support in any way on child care was surprising to me,” she said.

Support can range from having a full child care center at the company, to even just providing parents a list of child care options near the company site. Some companies can even offer subsidies.

“Not everything applies and not every company can do everything. But there’s some things that don’t cost a lot,” Madsen said.

Madsen hopes the data can help businesses reflect more on the options available to them. 

“We’re hoping that (the data) provide(s) options. When you look at our tables and look at our work, to have companies of any size go back to what they do and say, ‘Hey, is there any reason we shouldn’t do this one or this one, or give things a try?'” she said. “Because they have been shown to really support women, and things that support women support families.”