By Dr. Cecelia Herbert, Principal Behavioural Scientist at Qualtrics
Remember your early career days? Remember the excitement, that feeling of anything being possible? This feeling is still present for young people today who are entering the workplace, and it’s felt by both men and women. Nevertheless, somewhere along the line this equality begins to slip.
Recent global workforce research revealed that women aged under 25 experience work in a similar way to their male counterparts, with the same levels of engagement and participation. However, maintaining equality as these women progress through their career is challenging.
We’re already seeing a shift in the first few years of employment. The intention of young men to remain with their current employer and their wellbeing at work differs slightly from their female counterparts.
Women and men also begin their careers with very different priorities. Women’s engagement increases when they believe their pay is tied to performance. Men in this age range are more engaged when aligned with the company values.
These differences are not isolated. PwC’s Women in Work Index shows that workplace equality in the UK has dropped to its lowest position in 10 years among major economies. It now ranks 18th. Companies have also been focusing on RTOs mandates, increasing productivity, and integrating AI at the expense foundational employee experiences like hiring, onboarding and development processes. These moments shape long-term engagement, and organisational performance.
Breaking bad habits
How can we ensure that the next generation has equal opportunities to succeed at all ages?
We must first get the basics correct when they join the workforce. Only 7 in 10 women under 25 will feel fairly paid by 2025 compared to their male counterparts who are 76%. Just 71% of women aged under 25 feel that they can express their opinions without fearing retaliation. This is compared to 75% men of the same age. The gaps are small at first, but they grow larger as people age.
In order to close these gaps, organizations will need principles of equity, diversity and inclusion incorporated into their employee strategies. It means measuring and closing the experience gap, making sure that critical moments in an employee’s lifecycle, from hiring to leaving, are analyzed across demographic groups and taking actions to close this gap. Finding patterns of exclusion will also reveal any gaps. If, for example, underrepresented groups report consistently less effective training, or fewer opportunities for career advancement, then these patterns need to be addressed before they become long-term disadvantages.
The Silver Lining
The focus of the last few years has been on empowering the younger generation to become catalysts for change. The workplaces not only improve engagement among younger employees but also the gap in experience between men and woman in this age range is down to just two percentage points from four in 2024.
This is proof that change can be achieved with a conscious effort.
Young women are empowered and engaged when they enter the workplace. We must ensure that this is not undermined by social expectations, outdated workplace practices and poor employee experience management.
We’re seeing what is possible with a more equal start to careers. The gender gap in their early career is the smallest we have ever seen. Now we must maintain this momentum by listening and integrating equity in all aspects of the work. We need to ensure that optimism is not just a starting place, but that it’s a reality throughout careers.
The original version of this article, GenZ’s Equal Start: Can we Preserve their Early Career Optimism appeared first on Human Resources News.
