Bentley University News

Bentley University’s Millennial Preparedness research study raised a number of issues about millennials in the workplace. In the coming weeks, PreparedU, in a series entitled Generational Voices, will present opinions from millennials and non-millennials alike on a wide variety of these issues. These views may contrast or coincide, but each will provide perspective designed to enhance insights resulting from the PreparedU data.

This week, millennial actress and recent college graduate Emma Watson gave a powerful speech to the United Nations, launching the UN’s new solidarity campaign called He for She, which urges men to look at gender equality as more than a women’s issue — and for women to stop thinking that feminism is anti-men.

It’s no secret that the rising cost of student debt is a growing national crisis: the latest numbers suggest that seven of 10 college seniors last year graduated in debt; the total student loan burden in America today currently tops $1.2 trillion, a number that has tripled in the last decade, and at an interest rate of up to 12 percent.

As Bentley’s PreparedU research revealed, a majority of managers report that most college grads aren’t ready for the workplace. That’s yet another reason why showing up for that interview or first day on the job with new ideas could help impress. This list of “how-to” books — including new reads and old standbys — goes beyond what you (and your boss) might expect.

The court was right in not treating Ray Rice more harshly for assaulting his now wife Janay. The NFL and the Baltimore Ravens were wrong in not treating him more harshly.  Through it all, the media and other observers have largely missed that point.

President Obama took office in the midst of an economic crisis, and he's presided over three straight years of economic recovery. So why do the polls show that he is tied with an uninspiring Republican candidate, at a time when the GOP is relatively unpopular?

Perhaps it's because the economic recovery is strikingly feeble, by some indicators the weakest in American history. Indeed, we still have millions fewer jobs than in 2007, despite a population increase of nearly 15 million.

At a convocation rich in pomp and tradition, Bentley University welcomed the Class of 2018 to campus August 28 with a words of wisdom from a digital age marketing strategist dubbed the “millennial master of the universe ” by Fast Company.

In a keynote video address to 980 freshmen from 36 states and 42 countries, Sharma Hyder, CEO of Marketing Zen Group and a participant in Bentley’s PreparedU Project, offered “10 tweetable tips” for students to make the most of their time at Bentley.

Although the United States still ranks a disappointing 23rd on the Global Gender Gap Index, personal finance social network WalletHub had some good news last week for Massachusetts, just in time for Women’s Equality Day: In its 2014 in-depth analysis of the Best and Worst States for Women’s Equality, the publication ranked Massachusetts 13th best overall.

There’s one career strategy that is rarely considered but could prove useful, even pivotal, in the advancement of young women in the workplace.

It is simply this: Stop and find out if women exist in the upper echelons at a given company. Are there any women in the executive suites or on the board of directors? If you can’t find any, watch out.

Let’s not fool ourselves. Qualified women of today are unlikely to find themselves on the board of directors at top companies in Massachusetts. However sad and counterproductive, this is a statistical reality. 

Yet there are reasons to hope for strong and lasting change. Every year, the business world is held accountable and pushed forward by the annual Census of Women Directors and Executive Officers of Massachusetts Public Companies.