A recent study conducted by PwC has found that female “millennials” (considered to be women born between 1980 and 1995) are the most confident and ambitious, in comparison to past generations, particularly in the UK.
The study included 8,756 women from 75 countries, who were surveyed in January 2015 about their perceptions and attitudes towards not only their own career, but also the world of work more generally. Female millennials are regarded as more highly educated, and are now entering the workforce in higher numbers than ever before.
The study’s key measures included factors that were deemed most attractive and important when evaluating an employer, the types of compromises (if any) that were made in accepting a particular job, whether individuals tended to seek employers with similar values to their own, the importance of international mobility for advancing their career and the future expectation of working regular or flexible hours.
Key findings for females:
Opportunities for career progression ranked the most attractive employer trait (53% response)
- Competitive wages and financial incentives were the second most important, with a 44% response rate
Confidence levels much higher
- Female millennials from Brazil (76%), India (76%) and Portugal (65%) ranked as the most confident.
- Japan (11%), Kazakhstan (18%) and Germany (19%) were found to be the least confident.
Diversity, equality and inclusion highly valued when evaluating employers
- 86% of female millennials seek out employers with these traits.
- 71% do not feel that despite talk of diversity, opportunities are not truly equal.
43% of millennial women also feel that company promotions are biased towards males
- This finding has increased from 2011, where only 29% reported sensing a male-oriented bias.
- Spain (60%), France (58%) and Ireland (56%) were ranked to be the most male-biased.
- Malaysia (16%) and the Philippines (11%) ranked amongst the lowest.
There is a significant female demand for international work experience.
- 71% of female millennials reported wanting to work outside their home country during their career.
- Women only make up the minority of international assignees at just 20%.
High value is placed on critical feedback on career performance (work evaluations, progression plans and compensation), especially via face-to-face interaction.
Many female millennials are in relationships with dual working partners (in which both partners earn income)
- 42% of them are earning equal salaries to their partner/spouse.
- 24% are the primary earners in the relationship.
Working females are now more empowered than ever. (Image credit: Vallentin/iStock)
Findings tended to vary across women with different degrees of work experience (depending on when they entered the workforce). The report grouped those surveyed into their respective career stages, specifically: Career Starters (with 0–3 years experience), Career Developers (4–8 years experience) and Career Establishers (9+ years experience).
- 49% of career starters believed in their own ability to reach senior positions at their current employer.
- However, this is still significantly lower than male counterparts, with 71% reporting confidence in their ability to climb within their company.
Findings also suggest that financially speaking, working females are now more empowered than ever before. 86% of female millennials, who are in a relationship, are part of a “dual-career couple” in which both partners earn an income. While 42% earn equal salaries to their partners, 24% are the primary earners, inferring that 66% of all millennial females are earning at least equal, if not higher salaries than their counterparts. Furthermore, trends indicated a significant, positive correlation between the degree of work experience a woman had and the likelihood that she was the primary earner, with reports of 31% of women with 9 or more years of experience being the primary earner.
The study’s findings are indicative of a rapidly growing pool of female talent that is not only very well equipped to handle various job roles but has a very different career mindset to past generations of working women. For example, the myth that women left work to start families was contradicted with the finding that most women left past employers out of a perceived lack of career opportunities within the company. The reason of ‘starting a family’ was the sixth (and the least likely) reason.
Given the perception that many work environments are not yet considered to be inclusive and equal in opportunity for female employees, the report concludes that unless organisations address the structural barriers that limit these opportunities for women, female talent in the workforce remains as “untapped potential”.
