UVU research shows Utah women seek degrees that lead to lower-paying jobs

OREM — Utah women are not completing college degrees that prepare them for high-demand, high-paying jobs, according to researchers at Utah Valley University.

"Statistics suggest that women in Utah accept lower-wage jobs that are often low-skilled," management professor Susan Madsen wrote in an update on the two-year Utah Women and Education Project. The aim of the project is to find out why.

The percentage of Utah women enrolled in college declined between 1993 and 2003 from above to below the national average, and while rates have since increased, they still lag behind. In 2008, 38 percent of the state's 18- to 24-year-old women were enrolled, last in the country and 3 percent under the national average.

For those who attend, degrees in education and trades are more popular than business or science. Only 28.8 percent of Utah students in public-school business programs are women, compared to 49.5 percent nationally.

"Women who want to maximize their employability and increase their wages, as well as mothers who want flexible working schedules in desirable jobs, need to consider more advanced education in high-demand professions," the study's authors wrote.

— Paul Koepp