We continue to be ranked as the worst state for women’s equality – 11 years running

A miniature of the new state flag is pictured on a senator’s desk in the Senate Chamber at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

In August of every year, WalletHub publishes their update of the “Best & Worst States for Women’s Equality.” Each year, when I’m asked by the media if this is a surprise, I explain that it is not as we have studied the data for many years at the Utah Women & Leadership Project. In fact, in 2021 we published an extensive analysis of Wallet’s metrics titled “ Women’s Equality in Utah: Why Utah Is Ranked as the Worst State, and What Can Be Done.

Now, for 11 years running, Utah has ranked as the worst state when it comes to women’s equality. And, in WalletHub’s 2025 findings just released, we are not only ranked as the 50th of 50 states yet again, but there is a substantial gap between us the next worst state, Texas, with Idaho, Arkansa, and Louisiana  near the bottom too, but with about 12 points or more (of 100) more than Utah.

As I walk you through the results, it is important to note that the data sources WalletHub uses—for example, the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, CDC—are typically a couple of years behind. However, I do expect that with so many organizations and individuals joining forces with A Bolder Way Forward launched in June of 2023, we’ll be making progress soon.  It is also important to note that these are specific metrics chosen by WalletHub and experts, but they do not represent the full scope of metrics that could be possible (including some positive ones).

Basically, WalletHub groups their findings into three main categories (workplace environment, education and health, and political empowerment) with 17 key indicators that are each weighted differently. With a total of 100 points, Utah had 29.85 points in 2021, 31.22 points in 2022, 19.43 points in 2023, 23.04 in 2024, and 29.93 in 2025. In 2021, we were 7.52 points behind Idaho, while in 2022 we were 12.77 points behind Georgia, and in 2023 Utah was 22.11 points behind Texas. In 2024, we were 16.71 points behind Texas, and now in 2025 we are 11.96 points behind Texas.

I was able to get more in-depth data from WalletHub than was published in their recent report.

Let me share what I found.

Workplace environment

Utah currently ranks 50th for the “Workplace Environment” category (we were 44th in 2021, 48th in 2022, 49th in 2023, and 50th in 2024 ), which is worth 40 of the 100 points. I have not included the actual points for each, but instead their rankings (1=Best State; 50=Worst State) for 2022, 2023, 2024, and now 2025.

1. Income Disparity: 2022=50, 2023=50, 2024=50, 2025=49
2. Higher-Income Disparity: 2022=49, 2023=50, 2024=50, 2025=50
3. Disparity in Share of Executive Positions: 2022=46, 2023=48, 2024=48, 2025=47
4. Disparity in Share of Minimum-Wage Workers: 2022=1, 2023=1, 2024=1, 2025=1
5. Unemployment-Rate Disparity: 2022=1, 2023=34; 2024=43, 2025=49
6. Entrepreneurship-Rate Disparity: 2022=43, 2023=49, 2024=34, 2025=41
7. Disparity in Average Number of Work Hours: 2022=50, 2023=50, 2024=50, 2025=50
8. Job Security Disparity: 2022=29, 2023=1, 2024=50, 2025=1
9. Economic Security Disparity: 2022=3, 2023=3, 2024=3, 2025=3
10. Disparity in Poverty Rate: 2022=6, 2023=4, 2024=5, 2025=3

The most concerning areas for me include income disparity (gender pay gap), higher-income disparity, and executive position disparity. It is important to remember that our rankings go down when other states make progress.

Education and health

Utah ranks 50th in “Education & Health” (40 points), which was where we were ranked for many years. This category is the sum of the following three key indicators.

1. Disparity in Advanced Educational Attainment: 2022=50, 2023=50, 2024=50, 2025=50
2. Disparity in Math Test Scores: 2022=43, 2023=50, 2024=50, 2025=33
3. Disparity in Doctor-Visit Affordability: 2022=33, 2023=45, 2024=37, 2025=41

Although I’m concerned about all of these, I am hoping the progress seen in the disparity in math test scores in 8^th grade is not just a blip. This still means, however, that girls are significantly lower (when compared to boys) on math scores, particularly when compared to other states.

Political empowerment

And finally, Utah now ranks 28th on the “Political Empowerment” category (20 points), which I was expecting because of a few increases. We were 42nd in 2022, 49th in 2023, and 41st in 2024):

1. Disparity in Share of Lawmakers in the U.S. Senate: 2022=21, 2023=22, 2024=22, 2025=22 (all states with no women are ranked at 22)
2. Disparity in Share of Lawmakers in U.S. House of Representatives: 2022=37, 2023=37, 2024=23, 2025=23 (this increased last year with Celeste Malloy in office; all states with no women are ranked at 37 last year at least)
3. Disparity in Share of Lawmakers in State Legislature: 2022=37, 2023=40, 2024=39, 2025=32
4. Disparity in Share of State-Elected Executives: 2022=30; 2023=36, 2024=38, 2025=15 (in 2025, Tina Cannon as now serving as state auditor, along with Deidre Henderson as lieutent governor)

Research continues to show that women in political office are more likely to advocate for public policies around education, health, poverty, and family issues. As I’ve said many times, things change when there are more equal percentages of men and women serving in elected office at all levels.

Understanding where we are in a variety of metrics and ranking is the key to targeted, strategic improvements. Although rankings are not the end-all and don’t highlight some of the positive things women in Utah achieve, they are aligned with the extensive research on girls and women conducted and tracked by the Utah Women & Leadership Project and our partners. Importantly, improving things for girls and women doesn’t mean that we are lifting them at the expense of boys and men—that is the scarcity mentality. We believe that there is enough for everyone through cooperation and collaboration, which is the abundance mentality. We welcome all Utahns to be involved in changing things in Utah girls, women, and families!