Make an effort to end workplace gender gaps.

• Author: Francom, Sarah Ryther
• Position: From the Editor

Utah is home to many talented, ambitious, smart and creative women--women who lead their companies and communities, and serve as inspirational examples to those around them. For nearly 15 years, we have been celebrating remarkable businesswomen in our 30 Women to Watch special recognition feature, and this year's group of business and community leaders is nothing short of phenomenal. Read their stories beginning on page 62.

While there's no doubt that Utah's businesswomen have accomplished astounding achievements for their companies and communities, disconcerting gender-gap trends persist in Utah and across the nation. Despite making up nearly half of the workforce, women still hold too few top-level positions; women make up approximately 14 percent of Fortune 500 exec-level positions and about 17 percent of board seats. Compensation rates are also significantly lower. Utah women earn just 69 cents for every dollar paid to their male colleagues, which adds up to a yearly gap in wages of $14,446. Nationally, women working fulltime are paid 77 cents per dollar.

Though these figures are nothing new or surprising, I mention them because it's important to acknowledge that gender-gap problems persist and are detrimental to our community.

I recently started reading Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead, a book that discusses the role of women in the workplace. In Lean In, Sandberg, who serves as Facebook's COO and was recently named one of Forbes' Most Powerful Women in the World, discusses why these gender inequalities continue to permeate our society. Though I've only just started reading Sandberg's book, I've already gleaned a few pieces of wisdom.

First, Sandberg notes that many women leave the workforce before they actually leave, meaning that because they anticipate the possibility of taking time off to care for their families...