Gen Y Women In The Workplace!

In an article recently published in The Huffington Post, Business and Professional Women’s FoundationCEO Deborah Frett discusses four important lessons gleaned from the responses to BPW Foundation’s recent Gen Y Women in the Workplace survey, answered by more than 660 American women.

The key to recruiting, supporting and retaining Gen Y workers may require unlearning what we "know" about this cohort and relearning the importance of flexibility, equality and inclusivity for business success. Last week, Business and Professional Women's Foundation (BPW) Foundation released findings from our national survey on Gen Y women's workplace expectations and experiences. The responses from more than 660 women across the United States identified important challenges related to gender discrimination, work-life balance, and intergenerational workplace dynamics that employers cannot afford to ignore. Here are our top four reality checks on popular literature.

1. Gender discrimination was identified as a moderate or severe problem in today’s workplace by more than 75% of the women who responded.

  • Nearly 50% of Gen Y women have experienced or observed gender discrimination at work
  • Stereotyping, sexual harassment, lack of opportunity, different standards, and unequal compensation are among the types of discrimination found

2. To help Gen Y women deal with work-life balance, employers need to re-think the way they measure an employee’s commitment.

  • The traditional “ideal worker” demonstrates devotion in terms of time (e.g. working late hours, weekends, etc.), but this is not always feasible for women with family and other commitments

3. Gen Y women do not all have the same values, so it isn’t possible to create workplace programs around their specific values. But employers can help Gen Y women by meeting their basic needs and creating an environment for success. Five features that help them to do their best work are:

  • having open communication
  • understanding expectations
  • having their voice heard
  • receiving encouragement from supervisors and co-workers
  • understanding their role and responsibilities

4. Age bias is a significant issue for many Gen Y women.

  • 51% of women who experienced/observed gender discrimination also reported generational discrimination
  • Name calling (e.g. “girl,” “kid), being overlooked for promotions, held to different standards, and perceived as incompetent because of age are among the types of generational discrimination reported

Read the complete survey report here