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Section head
Generation Y and Gender Diversity
Generation Y defined as those born after 1980 are now an integral part of the workplace. Having had a different upbringing to the previous generation, Generation Y displays different characteristics in the workplace, expecting a different corporate culture , one that offers a good work life balance at the very least. There is a vast amount of research available online and this page serves to round up the essentials giving an overview of the subject.
Extract from:
The Reflexive Generation: Young Professionals’ Perspectives on Work, Career and Gender
Kelan, E., Gratton, L., Mah, A., & Walker, L. 2009
When asked about how important diversity is for them, most young professionals stated that it was ‘fairly important’, followed by ‘really important’, and then by ‘not important at all’. The most commonly cited form of diversity was nationality and ethnicity, followed by gender, religion and age. Most people agreed that diversity is enriching because a diverse group of people produces better solutions and ideas. However, the strongest opinion about diversity was that it is a fact of life. This generation would not expect to see a workplace that is not diverse. Diversity is accepted as normal and as nothing that needs to be stressed.
Experiences of Gender
Many young professionals argued that there has been or will be a lot of progress in relation to gender. Young professionals talked about how a gender balance is slowly being reached. They also talked about how gender discrimination is no longer an issue of modern workplaces. The glass ceiling was perceived as a thing of the past, and many people from this generation have the firm belief that equality between men and women has been achieved and will no longer be an issue for them.
Generation Y women are coming into the workplace believing that they do not have to worry about sexism, but is this really the case? 30years + after the first equality bill was passed the waste of female talent in the workplace costs £23 billion annually
Statistics from the EHRC Sex and Power report 2008 show that :
- A tortoise could travel from Land's End to John O'Groats and halfway back again in the 73 years it will take for equal numbers of women to become directors of FTSE 100 companies.
- Or the same tortoise could travel the entire length of the Great Wall of China in 212 years, only slightly longer than the 200 years it will take for women to be equally represented in Parliament.
It is a business imperative for businesses of today to learn how to attract and retain young talent of both genders, but to do this it is essential that the differences in the generations are recognised .
The following links will take you through to extensive research pieces on what Generation Y demands in the workplace, their characteristics, behaviours and aspirations.
