This article originally appeared in the Off-Script print issue, in stands November 2025. It has not been updated and some information may be out of date.

Last year on June 20, the University of Utah’s Women’s Resource Center (WRC) announced their closure as a result of HB261, an anti-DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) bill prohibiting identity centers on public Utah campuses. The center previously provided scholarships, counseling services and support groups for women at the U.

Currently, the U has two centers that conduct the services formerly administered by the WRC — the Center for Student Access and Resources and the University Counseling Center (UCC). The bill, HB261, marks broader federal moves to prohibit DEI measures in education as well as overall restrictions on higher education.

Gender equality in Utah 

According to an August 2025 report by WalletHub, the state of Utah ranked last in overall gender equality in the U.S.

Susan Madsen, Ph.D, is the director of the Utah Women and Leadership Project (UWLP), a research and advocacy organization through Utah State University.

Madsen said there are multifaceted issues affecting Utah women. “One of the foundational challenges that I talk about constantly is we have higher rates than the nation in terms of sexual assault, in terms of domestic violence and child sexual abuse,” she said.

Madsen also emphasized overall sexist attitudes as the root of these issues. “Sexism at its core impacts decisions about everything else. It’s the foundation of the gender pay gap … [the state of] Utah is one of the widest,” she said.

Utah is the most religious state in the nation. According to the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the U, 76% of its population adheres to a specific religion. Madsen said Utah’s more devout culture is also a potential factor for gender inequality. 

“When you have a society where men have a lot more power than women and religious societies in general, you tend to have more sexism,” Madsen said. “When you have more sexism, you have higher rates of violence, you have lower rates of opportunity.”

Center consolidation, reasons and effects

Kirstin Maanum, the former director of the WRC, is now the current director of the Center for Student Access and Resources (CSAR). The center provides many of the same services as the WRC aside from counseling, which now falls under the University Counseling Center.

Maanum expressed concern for students who are unsure of where to go for specific support. “I think students continue to come to us … I think they [students] talk about not necessarily knowing which spaces are necessarily for them,” she said. 

According to Maanum, there are gaps in services at the CSAR. “We’re not necessarily providing all the things we did that the Women’s Resource Center did,” she said. 

She also added there was a substantial initial uproar and reaction to the closure of the WRC.  “There was a lot of grief. I think it was hard for staff as well. I think anybody who was connected to these spaces felt like it was a fast transition and there was sadness,” she said.

Federal and state restrictions

On a federal level, President Donald Trump’s restrictions on higher education has impacted so-called “DEI” initiatives nationally.

“Nationally, things are happening, and climates are shifting all over the country,” Maanum said. “I used to be connected to a lot of women centers and gender equity centers across the country, and I know that some of those spaces are also closing at other public or private institutions … I just think there’s a lot of attacks on higher ed in general.”

Madsen said her organization was the only women’s organization allowed to continue operating post-HB261. ”We’re the only [group] with ‘women’ left in it, and that’s because the legislature gave us direct money to do what we’re doing,” she said. 

Madsen expressed her frustration with the bill and its implications. “They’ve taken all the Women’s Resource Centers away from campuses,” she said. “This false assumption that when you don’t see gender or race, that you’re serving everybody better is absolutely incorrect.” 

Madsen also said the closure of women’s resource centers across Utah mark the loss of a resource for vulnerable female students, particularly those in unsafe situations. “This has been devastating on the most vulnerable of our women. First generation women, people who have been sexually assaulted, domestic violence situations. All of those are the [women] that really were using the Women’s Resource Centers the most,” she said. 

Support for students

Robyn Blackburn, Ph.D., a research fellow for the UWLP, emphasized the importance of designated centers for specific students. “Campus was really important for me [in] forming my identity,” she said.  “I think students need specific groups of their peers that they’re able to relate to and not necessarily something broad.” 

Maanum explained that there are designated student positions at the CSAR to help students find specific help. “We have student resource navigators now, which we had a similar staff position [for] in the Women’s Resource Center. That was somebody to just say, ‘Hey, what do you need? I’m in your corner,'” she said.

Maanum said that many non-student employees formerly worked for campus “identity centers” such as the WRC. “Our staff, we’re all [formerly] connected to these identity spaces and understood the importance of making sure students felt seen, welcome, supported and connected,” she said. “I can say with 100% confidence that our staff greeted every student that walked through the doors in this new center.”

About the Contributor