The women of Generation Z They are entering the workplace, but they face unique obstacles.
Each generation faces new challenges due to social, economic and cultural changesso the fight for equality in the workplace also takes on a different approach.
GenZ, which represents 17% of the country's current population, according to data from the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO), is gradually integrating into the workforce with new job expectations.
Furthermore, IMCO highlights that in 2022, 55% of young workers between 15 and 29 years of age were women. This tells us that the female gender has modified the cultural structure of employment, but at the same time, new challenges arise for them.For example, equal opportunities, being able to join careers whose majority is masculine or, simply, better inclusion policies in companies.
In this regard, promoting safe work spaces for women is key if companies want to attract and retain young talent, whose vision and skills can contribute a lot to work by having new ideas, forms of development and, therefore, benefits.
What do young women face in the workplace?
Female and young leadership
It is true that when we talk about women in leadership roles, we find a significant gap: in 2022 only 38% of management positions were occupied by women, according to a study by Grant Thornton in Mexico. And probably, the number of Gen Z women is lower, due to their recent incorporation into the labor market.
This is why supporting internal growth opportunities for all employees, regardless of their age, allows not only to expand hiring networks, but also to analyze the so-called unconscious biases and, little by little, eliminate them along with the idea that women try harder than the rest to stand out.
Prioritize health
Although we have noticed that mental health has gained strength and changes have been made to reduce the effects of workers in this area, there is still much to do. One of the modifications in the Federal Labor Law that we saw last year was the right of working women to take menstrual leave, something that previous generations did not even conceive of.
This marks a watershed in making visible an issue that affects all women and with which they have “dealt” for years, so, without a doubt, it is a great advance that the effects that this has on the female gender are recognized, since which, in serious cases, can affect the person's work performance and even their motivation.
Thus, by not minimizing these conditions, health is promoted and it stops being a problem for workers.
Healthy and equitable work spaces
It is a fact that unconscious gender and age biases may exist in some companies, due to generational gaps in the people who confirm them, and not due to the policies of the place.
However, it is still important that companies pay special attention to offering the same employment conditions for each person regardless of their gender, both in salary, work team, training, evaluations, etc.
Let us remember that Generation Z women are interested in developing in inclusive and healthy spaces for them, hence increasing hiring diversity, eliminating the wage gap, implementing policies and training to combat discrimination and inequality at work, balancing life work and people, as well as creating an “open-minded” atmosphere.
Advantages of breaking the generational and gender gap
By training staff on these issues and providing them with tools to eradicate discriminatory practices, not only to those in charge of Human Resources, but to each member of the team, a positive company culture is created in which all employees feel respected and valued.
Communication between employees is key to achieving the resolution of any conflict, so differences become an area of opportunity for the team.
For example, listening to a young woman's ideas to digitize some process or activity and make it more efficient, promotes creativity and innovation in the team by enabling unique skills, but at the same time fostering respect and trust.
By promoting gender equality in the workplace, the company's reputation is improved and people who have similar values will want to work in that workplace, especially new generations of women who will feel safe and motivated to join that workplace. work team. In addition to creating a positive and productive workforce.
Madalina Secareanu Madalina leads Indeed's public relations strategies and corporate communications in Canada and Latin America.