Thousands of Utah women left the workplace during COVID-19 pandemic, new report shows msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
| Updated: 1:46 p.m.
Nearly 16% of Utah women have withdrawn in some way from the workplace during the coronavirus pandemic, new data shows.
And when you think about that in terms of the state’s population, said Susan Madsen, founder and director of the Utah Women and Leadership Project at Utah State University, that’s “thousands and thousands of women.”
Of Utah women surveyed by the project in January, 2.4% left the workforce completely and 2.8% took a leave of absence. Women commonly said they left jobs because their employer had to close or faced some type of financial hardship (4.4 out of 10); or because they had to care to care for children, the elderly or people with disabilities (1.4 out of 10).
| Updated: Jan. 8, 2021, 7:19 p.m.
The gender wage gap is closing at a slower rate in Utah and other states considered to be more religious than in more secular states.
But there are ways to fix that, researchers say, and the remedies start by being aware that piety can affect pay.
Each of the six major world religions Buddhism, Christianity, Folk, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism promotes differentiated gender roles for men and women, which shape social norms, including in the workplace, according to “The Hidden Cost of Prayer: Religiosity and the Gender Wage Gap,” published in October in the Academy of Management Journal.