CURATED READS FOR GEN Z—AND THEIR Z-CURIOUS COLLEAGUES

first up

Welcome back! This week, we’re peeking behind the pink curtain to check in on how women at work are doing.

This summer was FOR THE GIRLS (reminder: “girlie” is gender neutral and age agnostic). There were girl dinners, and of course, Barbie was everywhere. Women’s World Cup viewership soared, and the more feral among us enjoyed a Rat Girl Summer.
 
What we may overlook in this hot-pink celebration of girl culture are the pernicious and persistent problems Gen Z women in the workplace face (for those of you who watched Barbie, the movie tips its ensemble of pink hats at the topic). These challenges include everything from the gender pay gap to conscious (and unconscious) bias, and they can be found globally—in Asia, Canada, Spain, even the metaverse—and across industries, such as sports, government, and healthcare. You get the picture.

Let’s start with the gender pay gap. Thought it was solved? Fanfare around new pay transparency laws, which can benefit entry-level workers, might have signaled a trend in the right direction. But as it turns out, those laws have varying efficacy and may not be enforced at all. The problem with pay starts even earlier than some might expect: women tend to take more unpaid internships than men, regardless of industry, which sets those women up to earn less over their lifetimes.
  
What to make of hybrid work? The same flexible work arrangements that benefit women as they care for family members and children can also make it harder for young women to forge the relationships that can help them advance. That’s a catch-22 if there ever was one.

Then there’s the age-old bias against women in the workplace. For Gen Zers, that may take the form of “youngism,” or “the conflation of age with maturity and the misperception that tenure is required for competency.” That can manifest as being mistaken for someone more junior, or being called pet names, or coworkers focusing on your looks. When coupled with gender bias, it seems there’s “no right age” for working women. (FWIW: McKinsey research found that women managers under 30 are more likely to say they see bias than older employees at the same level.)

McKinsey research offers some encouraging findings: young women are more ambitious and prioritize working in an equitable and inclusive workplace. As McKinsey senior partner Alexis Krivkovich and coauthors put it, young women are “watching senior women leave for better opportunities, and they’re prepared to do the same.” Chipping away at these problems now to help those go-getters realize their leadership potential is the key.
 
So despite the pink-hued cultural bonanza the girls have enjoyed this summer, the challenges women in the workplace face are still there. The fight for equity continues.

VISUALIZE IT

Consumers expect good customer service from the government, too. But groups who use government services more frequently report lower levels of satisfaction with them.

WAIT, DON’T SCROLL

Party of one. How much can you make as a gig economy worker? Find that answer and more in this McKinsey Explainer on the gig economy.

Five-star service. The hotel of the future could let Gen Zers live out their alter-ego dreams by working in rotating positions throughout the week.

The apprentice, reloaded. By modernizing the art of the apprenticeship, businesses could help close the skills gap, create more meaning for their employees, and help develop the careers of younger employees.

NOT US; STILL GREAT

Boomer BFF. Cross-generational friendships could be an answer to social isolation, for the young and the old. [NYT]

Meet the Queenagers. If you want a better understanding of the challenges working women face today, take a look at the road paved by “queenagers,” or those women who began their careers in the 1980s and were the first to decide that flexibility > status. [Bloomberg]

CROSSWORD

— Edited by Alexandra Mondalek, editor, New York