There’s been a lot of discussion about Gen Y and the way we perceive women in the workplace.
We’re all a little confused. Gen Y gets confused because, looking instinctively at education statistics as a determinant of the future, we can’t understand why we don’t see women in leadership positions.
And our business leaders are confused because they often understand the business case for gender equity, but can’t always communicate it particularly well.
While it is true that women are the majority of university graduates and are fast dominating postgraduate studies, that’s not entirely relevant for those in the early stages of their career. And the solution to engaging people with issues like gender diversity is making it directly relevant – in this case that means highlighting the benefits of gender equity to the next generation of business leaders, and ensuring they work to maintain the pace of gains already made.
Younger men are seeing women attain equal levels of qualifications across a number of disciplines. What needs to be communicated is that just because women start their careers in a similar position, doesn’t mean changes won’t quickly occur. As the recent and highly publicised study into the gender graduate pay gap found, the foundations for systematic gender inequality are laid early.
When you look longer term and factor in career breaks, women are left even further behind. However, Gen Y doesn’t see this. We’re just entering the workplace where many industries now have a solid representation of women at the graduate level.
Unless Gen Y is exposed to the discussion about women in leadership, or even the representation of women in middle-management, they may pass the discussion off as “old”: a problem for their parents that’s been “done”. Many company and industry leaders recognise the value in gender equity, but it’s those who’ll be carrying the baton into the future who really need to see the relevance.
There are programs available to engage CEOs and other leaders in gender equity and diversity, but where are the similar pathways for those in the early stages of their career to also engage with the issue? There’s plenty of research about the issues facing women in the workplace, but not enough regarding how to communicate the fact we all have a role to play.
Gender equity is an intergenerational issue. It is the responsibility of those with power now to engage tomorrow’s leaders about gender equity, and to explain how they will be creating opportunities to help balance the difference.