Women are leveraging their knack for collaboration and team-building to successfully tackle public policy and government issues — a sector in which they are grossly underrepresented. But is what they bring to the table really different from men? In true political fashion, the question is up for debate.
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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.
The Millennial Point of View
Abby Connors, Tour Consultant, Education First (EF)
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.
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With more than 5,000 employees in 60 offices worldwide, marketing-services company Epsilon has a huge opportunity for impact with each of its policies and practices. When the company made the decision to introduce fast-paced raises and promotions in order to attract recent college graduates a few years ago, as recently reported by the Wall Street Journal, people took notice, especially millennials whom Epsilon hoped to recruit.
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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.
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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.
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In the competitive nonprofit sector, charitable organizations constantly have to prove themselves and their relative merit, to the general public and to funders, just to survive. Some believe that this requirement to prove worth especially reflects what women in business do every day. And it may explain why many of America’s charitable organizations are (and historically have been) driven by female leadership.
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They often get labeled by managers as self-centered, but if you really sit down and talk to millennials, you can begin to understand that they actually just want to get better at what they’re doing. This applies to their jobs, their families and their impact on the world. Simply put, this is an ambitious group of men and women.
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Sometimes good deeds do not go unpunished, and advocacy by women for women, sadly, may be one of them. Other times, good deeds escape punishment, as when women become top financial managers and investors reap the rewards. Good deeds can also leverage female talent in the form of partnerships that lead to highly successful businesses. This week’s round-up has the details.
Women and Minorities may be Punished for Promoting Diversity at Work
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Forthwith, some random thoughts prompted by Bentley’s PreparedU research … ruminations on gender and success, workplace skills, accomplishment, surveys themselves and helicopter parents — even as we begin to turn to “Millennial Minds,” which will move center stage next month.
Traits traditionally associated with gender may be becoming less relevant, and even less accurate.
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