Earlier this year I shared my vision for the Salt Lake Chamber as well as my vision for the state, capital city and business community. One of the priorities I believed that we must address right away was the gender wage gap. Utah ranks last on the list of states with the nation’s worst gender wage gap. But women, and women-owned businesses, are fundamental to Utah’s economic success.

When talking with business owners, it is clear to me no one looks to intentionally pay their female employees less than their male counterparts, and yet it happens—either because of unconscious workplace biases or unintentional business processes. Steps need to be made to repair these broken processes and close the gender wage gap, and I believe Utah’s business community is willing and able to not only take the necessary steps to ensure the work Utah women perform is valued fairly but also prove that we can be leaders in creating solutions that result in an equitable pay environment.

Over the last several months, the Salt Lake Chamber and the Women’s Leadership Institute have been working to create a guidebook titled, “Best Practices Guide for Closing the Gender Wage Gap.” This guidebook is full of policies, programs and actions companies can use to close the gender wage gap. We gathered research-based practices and policies and collected feedback and insight from Utah business leaders to create a toolkit of practical and pragmatic practices that companies can start implementing today and into the future.

The “Best Practices Guide for Closing the Gender Wage Gap,” is divided into five sections: evaluation, education, recruitment, retention and advancement. These five sections work together and build upon each other, listing actions that can be taken in the short-term and those policies that can be adopted over time. The guidebook does not need to be followed step-by-step, beginning to end. Rather, businesses can review their companies, identify areas for improvement, and create their own plan for implementation.

While the gender pay gap will not be fixed in one day, with one resource, one policy change, or one training, every step we take in the right direction gets us closer to the closing the gap. Whatever we do today sets the stage for our state’s future economy and prosperity. I invite you to join the Salt Lake Chamber and the Women’s Leadership Institute in working to close the gender wage gap in Utah.

Learn more here: slchamber.com/wagegap

Derek Miller
President and CEO
Salt Lake Chamber