On the final day of Utah’s legislative session — without warning, debate or transparency — most of the ongoing funding for the Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP) was quietly stripped and redirected elsewhere.

After 17 years of building the state’s only research entity dedicated solely to understanding the lives, needs, challenges and opportunities of Utah women and girls, I learned of this decision not from lawmakers, but from Utah State University leaders who themselves had been blindsided.

This is not just a budget adjustment. It is an existential threat to work that tens of thousands of Utahns rely on.

The $650,000 cut — tucked into a 4,762‑line budget bill — eliminates funding for four of my five full‑time staff members, several part‑time staff and more. These are the people who research, develop and share the resources that reach decision‑makers in nonprofits, schools, universities, businesses, government and households across the state. They help coordinate A Bolder Way Forward, a statewide initiative involving more than 7,000 Utahns across all 29 counties and more than 400 partner organizations. They help us track violence rates, workplace barriers, civic participation and the economic realities facing Utah women and families.

One professor cannot replace an entire research and community‑impact team. And one university cannot simply absorb the sudden loss of nearly all ongoing funding for a statewide initiative of this scale.

The UWLP’s mission has always been straightforward: to strengthen the impact of Utah girls and women by producing trustworthy research, creating and gathering valuable resources, and convening trainings and events that inform and inspire Utahns. Since founding the project in 2009, I have watched Utahns from every corner of the state use this work to improve schools, workplaces, communities and family life. That is what is now at risk.

This is also the second year in a row that the Legislature has taken last‑minute action to dismantle or defund work focused on women. Last year, lawmakers repealed the Women in the Economy Commission on the final day of the session — after assuring Utahns that the work would continue through organizations like UWLP. Now, again on the last day, funding for the state’s primary research hub on women and girls has been stripped with no public discussion or explanation.

All of this is happening in a year lawmakers themselves described as a “socks and underwear” budget year — tight and cautious — yet they still prioritized an income tax cut for the sixth year in a row. The message is unmistakable: Tax cuts are essential; research and support for women are optional.

More than 25,000 Utahns receive our monthly newsletter. Thousands attend our gatherings. Hundreds of men have stepped forward to support this work because they want a better future for their daughters, granddaughters, wives and partners. They understand what research consistently shows: That which impacts women impacts families.

Our work is not abstract. It is about reducing violence against women and children. It is about narrowing gender gaps in education, wages and leadership. It is about strengthening families, communities and the state’s economic future.

When funding is stripped from this work, the consequences ripple outward — to survivors who need better systems, to employers who need better data, to policymakers who need evidence‑based insights and to families who deserve a Utah where women and girls can thrive.

What troubles me most is not only the cut itself, but the way it was done. A decision that affects tens of thousands of Utahns was made quietly and without public debate. Most legislators I’ve spoken with had no idea it happened. Utah State University leadership was caught off guard. There was no hearing, no discussion, no opportunity for Utahns to weigh in.

This is not how a healthy democracy functions. Transparency is not optional. Accountability is not optional. Public trust is not optional.

And yet, despite the shock, I remain anchored in hope. I have seen too many Utahns — women and men, rural and urban, conservative and progressive — work together in good faith to build a better future. I have seen what happens when people unite around shared values: safety, opportunity, dignity and the belief that every girl and woman deserves the chance to thrive.

Utah can be a place where families flourish. Utah can be a place where women are not an afterthought. Utah can be a place where decisions are made in the light, not in the shadows. But we cannot get there by stepping backward.

Utah State University has expressed a commitment to find donors to help bridge the immediate funding gap, and I am grateful for that. But the long‑term sustainability of this work cannot depend on last‑minute rescues or institutional patchwork. It requires stable, transparent and principled support from leaders who understand that the well‑being of women and girls is not a niche issue — it is a statewide priority.

I still believe most people are good. I still believe Utah can change. And I still love this state enough to fight for it.

But love requires truth. And the truth is this: Utah cannot claim to support families while repeatedly undermining the very work that helps women and girls thrive.

We deserve better. And we will keep working — together — to build it.

Susan R. Madsen, Ed.D., is the Extension Professor of Leadership & Director, Utah Women & Leadership Project, Utah State University. She is also a women and leadership global thought leader, author, and speaker.

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