Women in the States: 2015 Project

Dear YWCA Members and Friends,

You may remember that the YWCA Utah recently partnered with the highly respected Institute for Women's Policy Research to produce a research briefing entitled The Well-Being of Women in Utah: An Overview, which was released in May 2014 (Utah Women's Well-Being Report). It was a significant step in the YWCA's long-term goal to play a more active and influential role in advancing the well-being of Utah women in key dimensions of their lives.

I am pleased to let you know that today IWPR released the first in a series of reports from its Status of Women in the States: 2015 project. The report is available through the new website http://www.statusofwomendata.org. It analyzes employment and earnings data and identifies the best and worst states for women to work, giving each state a rank and a grade based on a composite index first developed by IWPR in 1996. The report is the first ever to calculate when the pay gap will close in each state. The research also gives voice to the needs of women from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds across the income spectrum, ensuring that their perspectives enter public conversation.

As members and friends of the YWCA, you know how important the well-being of women is to the strength of their families and their communities, and to the prosperity and future of our state. I hope you will welcome this information - and the YWCA's efforts to advance Utah women's well-being in new ways.

Throughout the spring, IWPR will release additional reports from the Status of Women in the States: 2015. We will be sure you are among the first to receive them.

With best regards,

Anne Burkholder

CEO, YWCA Utah

To our Women of Water, please go to the report at: http://www.statusofwomendata.org. to see the research data. It is easy to navigate through the information and interesting to see where we fall in Utah: