modification paper

MILLENIALS AND GENDER ROLES

Gender and generational discrimination by the society have been a bar to participation of women and the millennial generation in the corporate world and other professional work areas. These two groups, unlike the common perception are creative, profitable and very productive yet they are ignored due to the societal’s prejudices. There are proofs from statistics of how well they perform when all the conditions are right for them. However the society denies them these appropriate conditions as explained below hence their productivity is not as high as it should be with the conditions right.

Millennial generation refers to the generation of those born between the years 1981 and 2001 though some authors such as Tapscott Don put it as the generation of people born between the years 1977 and 1997. The older generation has often viewed the millennial generation as observed by Tapscott in his book as an unreliable, ignorant generation who are work shy. In this regards therefore, the millennial have been denied some job opportunities and even when employed, their employers do not appreciate their work and are more unlikely to give them promotions at the work place. This has been attributed to the fact that most of these corporate employers are from an older generation and do not understand the needs of the millennial generation.

The society and the older generation have somehow divided the roles of people according to gender. The woman’s role in the American society according to the older generation has been to care for the children and do the domestic work while it is only men who were seen as ones who are supposed to engage in professional work. This therefore has led to the men always preferred for job opportunities to women by employers from the older generation even if they possess the same qualifications. Unfortunately, some women too have accepted this situation as seen from their unwillingness to go for certain positions for fear of what the society might think of them as Dormant Richard insinuates in his article, ‘fatherhood quotes from men juggling the work and the home’.

Although there have been increased opportunities for women in the academic sector, they have not been fully reflected in the achievements part. In his article, Dormant observes that in the millennial generation, the opportunity gap has greatly closed while the achievement gap is still big between the genders. According to his observations, there are more female graduates than male graduates from learning institutions by almost twenty percent. This is however not reflected in the achievements with only fifteen percent of women occupying the 500 executive officer positions in the US, the percentage of women in the Congress being below 20 percent and for every dollar made by an average man, an average woman makes only 77 pennies as contended by Dormant. This is proof that although there are enough qualified women, the society is still unwilling to give them these opportunities.

The discrimination of the women by the society and the youth by the corporate world comes out in various ways. Some of them are similar while some are unique to either group. They have led to the state in which less youths and women are employed and only in lesser capacities as compared to their counterparts by corporates and other employment sectors. They include the following.

The lack of flexibility in the normal work schedule is a major way. Inflexibility is mostly common with the high ranking jobs. This is because such jobs usually involve a lot of time spent at work at the expense of the home, travelling in most instances among other commitments. These, according to Slaughter Anne-Marie are not so family friendly as they do not leave time for other equally important family duties. For this reason therefore even the few who manage to rise to these positions may be forced to give them up. An example is Slaughter who had to leave a high ranking job as a director of policy planning of the state department due to its inflexibility which could not enable her to take care of her two sons as well as she wanted.

The other factor is the lack of appreciation of the works. Everyone needs to be appreciated for a work well done and women and the millennial are no exception. Appreciation comes in various ways such as a pay raise, a promotion or other packages. The members of the new generation and even women have experienced situations where they work so hard to deserve a promotion but when a chance arises, its normally the older members or the male counterparts that receives the same. This as Tappercott observes is usually due to the young generation being viewed as inexperienced and unreliable. This therefore discourages the young generation and the women alike and is a contributor to the less number of women and the younger generation in the executive officer positions.

Another reason is child birth. A 2010 study by Reach Advisors' James Chung revealed that in 147 out of the 150 cities of the United States, unmarried childless women who are under the age of 30 earned more than their male counterparts by 8 percent. However once they get children, the male counterparts overtake them in earnings, generally. This may be due to the new responsibility of child care as opposed to work. Furthermore, expectant women usually takes a maternity leave when they are about to deliver. This, although recognized by the American labor laws may sometimes be the undoing of the women. It makes them susceptible to job loss in certain employments. Even if they survive, they are sometimes made to appear just as beginners when they go back and may miss promotion opportunities even if they are qualified. In addition, some employers would not want to employ millennial women due to the fact that they are young and would likely start a family in the near future which may involve pregnancy and maternity leaves that the employers are not normally too happy with.

The other is the difficulty in juggling professional work and domestic work. The society believes that domestic work is the role of the woman. Women who choose to so professional work therefore have to combine it with the domestic work as well. Dormant in his article refers to a research done by Pew Research Centre in March 2013 on double-income couples. According to the research 60 percent of parents with children below 18 years of age and with both parents working have women take more responsibilities with house works and child care (16 to 9 and 12 to 7 respectively). The fact that women are more involved in domestic work than men means that the men have an upper hand at the work place. Expecting the women to compete with these men is unfair as the men who have more time for such works will be better. Judging them on the same standards as is always the case therefore leads to the men getting the promotions at the women’s expense.

The other problem is the societal discriminatory perceptions. This affects both the millennial generation and the women. For women, it is believed that their place is with the domestic setting and that those who rise are viewed suspiciously. In Dormant’s article he observes that there is the belief that ambitious, assertive women are generally less liked than their male counterparts. This may discourage these women from fighting for professional achievement. As for the millennial generation, they are normally perceived as inexperienced in most matters by the corporates who do not understand them. For this reason therefore, corporates may not be willing to give them a chance at the important jobs hence no chance to even prove their worth.

The other reason is the small number of women and the younger generation in leadership positions to affect changes that are desirable to them. Most of the people in leadership are in most times just looking out for their own interests and ignore those of the underrepresented. This therefore leads to policies that are not so favorable hence they fail to realize their potential. Women for instance are arguably more family oriented than men. If more women were in the position to make these policies then they would probably opt for policies which are more family friendly. The same case applies to the youth who are more technologically inclined as compared to the older generations and would participate in the policies that supports technology.

The other problem is the curriculum and teaching methods at the college which is a problem majorly for the millennial generation. Some of the college curriculum are irrelevant to the millennial generation and are therefore not helpful to them. As Tapperscott states in his book, the youth of today do not just require information for the sake of it but are more interested in information that can help them. In addition some of the teaching methods are no longer effective. The analogue form of teaching for instance no longer draws much interest from the youth who now tends to be more stimulated by technology.

In order to tackle these challenges that derail both the youth and women, a number of actions can be taken. These courses of action may be appropriate for both the youth’s and women’s problems though some are unique to a specific group.

There is need to create job flexibility for everyone including women and the younger generation. This is in the sense that provided that the work is done well, the employees should be able to plan their own schedule so that they can easily manage other responsibilities as well. Slaughter is an ardent proponent of flexibility in the employment sector. In her article, she gives a personal testimony of how due to a flexible work schedule she previously enjoyed working as a law school lecture. According to her, due to this flexibility, she was able to get the job done while still having ample time for her family. Flexibility in the job is seen as a family friendly policy and since the Unites States values family, this would be a much welcomed course of action.

There is need to recognize the efforts of these groups of individuals when they perform exceptionally both in the corporate and the employment sectors. this can be done by raising their pay or by promoting them through the ranks. This will make them have a sense of belonging to the corporation or employment and is important for their increased productivity. All employees need to feel this sense of belonging and importance.

There is need to encourage creativity among the millennials in the corporate work as suggested by Barak Greg et al. this can be achieved by giving them the important positions where their skills are put to use and they are required to make decisions. When they have to make new decisions then by all means they will apply their creativity. Tappercott also recognizes that most millenialls are technologically knowledgeable and therefore could be motivated to use their knowledge to make important creations for the betterment of the economy. In this sense, they may feel more important and increase their productivity.

There is need to incorporate technology in the learning institutions. This is because the younger generation identifies more with it and it is apart that greatly stimulates their creativity. As Tappercott says, information is not to be passed just for the sake of it but it is necessary that the relevant information are the major focus in the colleges. This view is shared in Ross's book as well.

More women and the younger generation needs to be engaged as leaders in the corporate world as suggested by Giddens. According to him, the environment of the young generation has been more participatory and inclusive hence need go reflect it even in the employment or corporate world. When the young generation is involved, they bring something that the older generation lacks, the technological know-how. The world is becoming digital and as Tapscott observed some years back, there are certain job opportunities that are now being created due to technology. With the high rates of unemployment, the skills of these youths need to be put into use to create these jobs.

There is need for the male counterparts to assist the women in the domestic chores so as to lessen this burden and enable them to easily combine their jobs with the domestic work. According to Formant, more men in the millenial generation are now willing to take part in their children's lives. This is a positive for the women as it means that they can now compete with the men in a more or less equal footing.

There is also the need for men to also take a mandatory paternal leave when their wives deliver. This is important as it will level the playing field since maternity leave for women usually causes fear loss of the job. If the man can also go on leave, then there is no need for the employer to prefer them for promotions at the expenses of women on the basis of always being available at work. This, although downplayed by Dormant, is in my opinion a very important consideration. In Dormant's article, he talks of Gail Collins of the New York Times who says that husbands need to take up some of the domestic loads, a position I completely agree with.

Women also need to rise up and as Sandberg says, engage in harder negotiations, be more assertive and not caring too much of what others think of them. It is these fears that prevent them from prospering. There is need to learn from the women who have gone before and achieved where no one ever thought they would such as Sandberg. There is need for women in decision making positions as they better understand their struggles. Women can no longer wait for these positions to be handed to them on a silver plate. They need to grab these opportunities by themselves and utilize them. This would ensure that the decisions made are not prejudicial to them hence ensuring equality.

In conclusion therefore, women and the younger generations have been left out in important professional and corporate positions due to societal prejudices that have generated other problems as well. There is therefore need to address these problems in order to have them involved since they can also be very productive just as their counterparts.

References

Gregor, K. (2009). Educating the Net Generation: A Handbook of Findings For Practice and Policy. Strawberry Hills, NSW.

Ross, E. W. (2006). The Social Studies Curriculum; Purposes, Problems and Possibilities. Albany, New York.

Tapscott, D. (2009) How the Net Generation is Changing Your World. McGraw-Hill. New York.

Schmidt, J. J.(2006). Social and Cultural Foundations of Counseling and Human Services: Multiple Influences on Self Concept Development. Pearson. Boston

Slaughter, A.(2012, July/August). Why Women Cant Still Have It All. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/07/why-women-still-cant-have-it-all/309020/

Dorment, R.(2013, May 18th) Fatherhood Quotes from Men Juggling the work and the Home. Retrieved from http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a22764/why-men-still-cant-have-it-all-0613/