Highlights from Handshake Network Trends Report: Gender, Equity, and Gen Z

Summarized by Sara Jones

Handshake recently interviewed 1005 students, ages 18-25, around issues surrounding gender diversity in the workplace. 50% identified as women, 46% as men, and 3.5% as non-binary. Here are some highlights from their recent 29-page report.

COVID has had a disproportionate impact on women and people of color—and Gen Z is missing female leadership at work

Women constitute 60% of undergraduate enrollment, and have recently surpassed men as the majority of college-educated professionals in the workforce. Nonetheless, women make up the lowest percentage of the labor force since 1988. 

When COVID forced school and other shutdowns, women started leaving the workforce disproportionately to men due to the difficulties of managing work alongside childcare and other caregiving responsibilities. As a result of this so-called COVID-19 “she-cession,” fewer women are on or will be on track to become future leaders and mentors to Gen Z. 

• Women have lost more than 5.4 million jobs in the pandemic.
  
• Mothers are more than 1.5X as likely as fathers to be spending an extra 3+ hours a day on housework and childcare—equal to 20 hours a week.
  
• 5+ million non-binary and LGBTQIA+ workers have experienced serious financial hardship, with one-third suffering a reduction in work hours due to the pandemic.
  
• Groups hit hardest by COVID-19 in terms of employer: women, workers with low educational attainment, part-time workers, and racial and ethnic minorities.
  
• Unemployment rates are the highest for minority groups:
  
  • Black/African Americans: 11.4%
    
  • Hispanics/Latinx: 10.4%
    
  • Asians: 8.7%
    
  • Whites/Caucasians: 7.3%

Most of Gen Z won’t apply to employers who lack gender diversity 

60% of all respondents to the survey say they “always” or “usually” research diversity in employers’ leadership (defined as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, background, and other factors)—a practice consistent across demographic groups. This is not surprising, given Gen Z is the most diverse generation, and it’s significant, considering Gen Z represents 24% of the global workforce—and will represent 30% by 2030.

According to Handshake, many workers under 35 expect employers to actively hire and develop a more inclusive and diverse workforce, help underrepresented minorities advance, and act against discrimination and systemic racism.

Diversity and inclusion in the workplace have been emphasized for decades, but analysts believe Gen Z may be the one that actually holds employers accountable for changing things.

• 53.2% of all Handshake survey respondents strongly agree/agree that they wouldn’t apply to a job or internship with an employer that lacks general diversity, and 52.7% of all respondents wouldn’t apply to a job or internship that lacks gender diversity specifically.
  
• 65.8% of non-binary individuals and 60.4% of women strongly agree/agree that they would not apply to a job or internship where there is a lack of gender diversity (compared to 43.4% of men).
  
• About half of all respondents said they would leave a job if it did not meet their expectations for social justice or equity and many more women felt this way (55.4%) compared to men (43%)

To attract more female and non-binary candidates, employers need to put more women in leadership positions

When women are in leadership roles, there’s a strong correlation with gender diversity at all levels of an organization. Thus, Handshake states, “the key to breaking the cycle of gender imbalance is having more women represented in leadership roles.”

The “broken rung” theory maintains that although women and men enter the workplace in nearly equal numbers, many more men are promoted to managerial roles at the time of a first promotion. The “broken rung” thus creates a gender imbalance that affects every level of work. To fix it, women must be promoted from the entry- and junior-level positions to managerial-level positions at an equal rate to men.

• 65.7% of non-binary individuals and 65% of women look for women in leadership roles before applying for a job, compared with 34.2% of men.
  
• Women are missing at the manager level: for every 100 men promoted, 85 women are promoted, 71 Latinas, and 58 Black/African American women.
  
• Women hold 38% of the managerial-level positions compared to 62% of all men.
  
• Just 1 in 5 C-Suite executives are women, and 1 in 30 are women of color.

Pay is the most important factor for students—and they want salary transparency on job descriptions

Out of all of our survey respondents, the majority agree that “salary and compensation” is the most important factor in choosing a prospective job.

The majority of Gen Z survey respondents also say that seeing salary ranges posted on job descriptions is the most compelling factor that makes them apply – 69% of non-binary individuals feel this way, 66% of women, and 65% of men.

Recommendations 

For Employers

• Take extra steps to encourage and recruit women and non-binary students to apply to your job opportunities to overcome any potential confidence gap. 
  
• Demonstrate real commitment to DEI by promoting and hiring women and non-binary students into leadership roles.
  
• Consider adding a salary range to entry-level or early career roles to help encourage a diverse Gen Z applicant pool.
  
• Enact policies around pay transparency—such as regular pay audits—to demonstrate how you put inclusion and equity into practice at your organization. 
  
• Recognize intersectionality in your hiring process—for example, how are your practices affecting and being absorbed by women of color?

For Colleges and Universities

• Teach salary and compensation negotiation to women and non-binary students. 
  
• Raise awareness about the gender gap and instill confidence in your women and non-binary students as they pursue their interests.
  
• Work with employers to encourage them to share entry-level salary information in job postings.
  
• Highlight employers that have demonstrated a real commitment to DEI practices (e.g., employers who ensure there’s gender equity in their applicant pool, interview slate, etc.).
  
• Connect women and non-binary students to alumni who can offer information about the challenges and opportunities at a certain company, or who provide mentorship and advice.