On Oct. 13, the Millcreek City Council discussed Resolution 25:33 to support the organization Bolder Way Forward, which aims to promote opportunities for women, children and families throughout Utah.

Millcreek Mayor Jeff Silvestrini stated that policies benefiting women and girls helps all members of society, and that "Millcreek recognizes that when women experience good health, freedom, safety, equal representation in the community and government, [and] access to education...all Utahns thrive, including men and boys and families." 

Bolder Way Forward is a program that was started in 2023 by the Utah Women and Leadership Project, with the primary aim to empower women, children and families in Utah to thrive in their families and communities. Bolder Way Forward's work centers around the broad categories of education, workplace, community engagement, health and well-being, and safety and security. 

The broad categories provide Bolder Way Forward with the ability to target specific areas of focus, accounting for the plethora of concerns and needs facing woman across the state. One of the ways Bolder Way Forward does this is through conducting research on different issues and circumstances facing women in Utah on a daily basis, such as researching the gender pay gap, unpaid labor worked by women in the home, maternal mental health and women's finances. Additionally, Bolder Way Forward helps to create toolkits, resources, trainings and opportunities for women to learn and come together to give and share support. 

The state of women's equality in Utah has been a topic that has only become more relevant in recent years. Nationally, Utah ranks second to last for women's equality in the workplace and has the lowest levels of women's leadership representation in almost every domain (particularly in politics and government), which was pointed out by Silvestrini. He went on to explain that Utah also consistently has some of the highest levels of gender-based discrimination, sexual assault and domestic violence in the country.

Silvestrini provided some ways in which Millcreek defies these statistics, as not only does the council have a female majority, but half of Millcreek's department directors are women. The mayor said that Millcreek wants to create an environment that supports women and their success in the workplace as well as outside of it, and thus asked the council to adopt the resolution to participate in the mission of a Bolder Way Forward.

Councilmember Bev Uipi praised the mayor for recognizing the plight of women in this state and wanting to champion their successes, noting that "it is so empowering to know our mayor supports us as individuals, but also in our leadership roles." She thanked the mayor for suggesting the resolution to formally codify these goals, adding that the initiative to support and uplift women was something the council was already participating in.

Adopting the resolution makes Millcreek a Bolder Way Forward City, and the council voted unanimously to adopt the resolution. Deborah Lin of the Utah Women and Leadership Project attended the meeting and said Millcreek is the eighth Utah municipality to adopt the resolution. Lin thanked the mayor and council, saying, "we want to close gaps, increase opportunities, and decrease violence against women and children," adding that spreading awareness about the program is critical to protecting women and families.

To learn more about Bolder Way Forward, visit www.usu.edu/uwlp/a-bolder-way-forward/overview.