Table of Contents
Problem Statement
This commentary will outline the education levels of women in Utah including trends, failures to progress, and confounding factors. Utah has one of the largest graduate degree gender gaps in the country.1
While the definition of education can be rather subjective, for the purposes of this commentary we will divide educational attainment among adults into the following categories: less than high school; high school graduate (includes equivalency); some college; Associate’s degree; Bachelor’s degree; and Graduate or Professional degree.2
In 2016 the percentage of students who attended public schools and graduated with a traditional diploma, 4 years after beginning the 9th grade, was 84.1% worldwide.3 The Healthy People 2030 goals includes a desire to increase this level of education to 90.7%.3 In Utah, 6.6% of women have earned less than a high school degree, 23.4% hold a high school or equivalent degree, 26.5% have completed some college, 10.8% hold an associate’s degree, 23.5% have a bachelor’s degree, and 9.3% have a graduate or professional degree.2
Status of the Literature
Education has been strongly correlated with health status as those with higher levels of education often have higher income, improved mental health, a strong social support network, a lower risk of death later in life, and a deeper understanding of disease and preventative health habits.2,3 Education is a prominent and crucial topic often discussed in many public health domains across the globe, including women’s health.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, national trends show women earn more bachelor’s degrees than men, 20.6% to 19.8% respectively. Utah exceeds those numbers with 23.0% of women and 22.6% of men earning bachelor’s degrees. Interestingly enough, Utah women fall behind when it comes to graduate and professional degrees. The percentage of women earning a graduate degree in the U.S. is about 13% but in Utah that percentage stands at 9.3%.4
Utah women are aggressively falling behind their counterparts across the country even though they highly desire graduate degrees.5 According to a study conducted by Utah State University (USU), where 907 college enrolled women participated, nearly half of them indicated they planned to attend graduate school.5 This leaves us with the burning question; why are only 9.3% of women in Utah actually achieving this goal?
Call to Action
It seems as though ambition or intention is not an issue for women in Utah so there must be other barriers influencing their ability to earn a graduate degree. According to USU, women enrolled in graduate degree programs in Utah are older, more ethnically diverse, likely to cohabitate or have a child, and struggle with managing family responsibilities while obtaining a higher education.5
Many companies discuss “work-life” balance and prioritize this mindset for their employees as burnout has become a more prominent issue, particularly within healthcare fields as a result of the pandemic. However, this same mentality is not often discussed or prioritized for graduate students, who are more often than not, juggling careers, families, and attending graduate school full time.5 This balancing act plays a major role in the percentage of women who hold graduate degrees in Utah. Undergraduates often do not face the same balancing act challenges of graduate students and this is reflected in the number of women who complete their degree programs, 23.5% and 9.3% respectively.2
There are many resources available to graduate school students including childcare, scholarships, fellowships, housing, transportation, healthcare, grants, and continued educational support.6 We need to raise awareness and create paths to overcome the perceived barriers of attending and successfully completing graduate school. We must move forward, empower, and provide women in Utah with the resources they need to follow their ambition, achieve their academic goals, and close the graduate degree gender gap.
In Utah, the issue is not lack of resources but rather a failure by Utah academic institutions to adequately get the word out to potential undergraduate and graduate students on how and where to access these resources. Resources should be well advertised in application materials so that potential students can assess whether they will have the necessary resources to accomplish their goals prior to applying for a program or at the very least prior to deciding to enroll. Graduate students need continuous support in order to balance their academics, personal life, and careers effectively. While there is an immense amount of work to be accomplished on this topic, graduate school is not the only way we can improve health outcomes and increase life expectancy. Education should be a universal opportunity and all forms of education will increase the health and wellness of our communities.
References
- Utah Public Radio | By Clayre Scott. “Utah Has the Biggest Graduate Degree Gender Gap in the Country.” UPR Utah Public Radio, Utah Public Radio , 5 Oct. 2022, https://www.upr.org/utah-news/2022-10-05/utah-has-the-biggest-graduate-degree-gender– gap-in-the-country.
- Utah Department of Health. “Complete Health Indicator Report of Utah Population Characteristics: Education Level in the Population.” IBIS, Utah Department of Health , 29 Mar. 2022, https://ibis.health.utah.gov/ibisph-view/indicator/complete_profile/EduLevPop.html.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services . “Increase the Proportion of High School Students Who Graduate in 4 Years – AH‑08.” Increase the Proportion of High School Students Who Graduate in 4 Years – AH‑08 – Healthy People 2030, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2021, https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/adolescents/incre ase-proportion-high-school-students-who-graduate-4-years-ah-08.
- Bureau, U.S. Census. Explore Census Data, U.S. Census Bureau , 2021, https://data.census.gov/.
- University, Utah State. “Utah Women Pursuing Higher Education Face Challenges.” Welcome To Utah State University, Utah State University , 21 Sept. 2022, https://www.usu.edu/today/story/utah-women-pursuing-higher-education-face-challenges.
- The University of Utah. “Resources Hub.” Resources Hub – Graduate School – The University of Utah, https://gradschool.utah.edu/resources-hub/index.php.
Citation
Turner E. (2023). Women in Post-Secondary Education: Utah Fails to Thrive. Utah Women’s Health Review. doi: 10.26054/0d-366k-gegc
