SHOW / EPISODE

S5E6: Establishing a Workplace Culture Takes All Of Us feat. Dr. Susan Madsen & Nubia Peña

33m | Nov 2, 2023

This season, we are exploring the experience of women in the workplace, especially here in Utah. In a recent study published by Wallet Hub, Utah ranked as the worst state for women’s equality. The study put Utah last for women in education and health and 49th in both political empowerment and workplace environment for women. The study also found that the income gap between men and women was worse in Utah than in any other state and that Utah is seriously lacking when it comes to women in executive leadership positions.

Here to help us make sense of the numbers and to paint a picture of the landscape for professional women in Utah and beyond are Dr. Susan Madsen and Nubia Peña.

Dr. Susan Madsen is the founding director of the Utah Women & Leadership Program and the inaugural Karen Haight Huntsman Endowed Professor of Leadership at Utah State University, and Nubia Peña is the Senior Advisor of Equity and Opportunity for the Cox/Henderson Administration and the director for the Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs.

Listen to this dynamic conversation as these three women discuss women who live at the intersection of sexism and other marginalized communities, working on making workplace culture a more intentional product, and their shared optimism for the future of working women in Utah.

Eccles Business Buzz is a production of the David Eccles School of Business and is produced by University FM.

Episode Quotes:

Turning gaps to opportunities

[10:13] Nubia Peña: I created the opportunity framework for our team that follows a three-pronged approach, which is data-informed, opportunity-driven, and people-inspired. By using the data to understand employee climate, culture, and satisfaction, we can then identify the gaps that may cause us to lose great talent to other companies. And those gaps would then be turned into opportunities so that we better serve our employees, which are our most important assets. So, we really want to tell the story of Utah. While we know that there are challenges, we also know that there are some great successes coming out of our industry and corporate leaders. We know that Utah is probably, and most likely, in the next five to ten years, going to be leading for being some of the best and family-friendliest corporations in the nation.

The power of collaboration in leadership

[15:48] Dr. Susan Madsen: Don't just do a side women's network; connect with your leadership team, align your goals with the goals of the company, be strategic, and help your leaders understand how important this is. And I'll tell you, there's numbers, research, and there’s the business case. It's going on and on that when men and women work together in more equal numbers on teams, in leadership roles in the C-suite, on corporate boards, there are so many benefits for the teams, for the individuals, for the communities, but then in society as well. When you learn things at work, you take them to your family, your congregations, and your community.

Utah's unique approach to empowering women in the workforce

[21:59] Dr. Susan Madsen: Utah is unique, and the leaders of this, as we're calling it in A Bolder Way Forward, are looking even differently than other states. There are so many women who want to work professionally but want to work part-time; that is unique. And so the leaders in that spoke and another one on workforce development are working on helping companies understand that women can work part-time and contribute, and it can benefit everyone involved.

Utah way: Having the value of choice for women

[18:14] Nubia Peña: Our desire in championing the beauty of all of these pathways that can create thriving for women in the workforce and women to choose to stay at home is the value of choice. And as we partner with our corporate leaders with our legislative sector, when we're thinking about all the people that are needed to create the type of state where there is an abundance of opportunities, there is something that many of us know, which is called the Utah way. And we think differently and out of the box.

Show Links:

Eccles Business Buzz