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PwC Concludes Female Millennials Are Great For Vague, Pointless Research

Another day, another study, and this time it's yet again one of accounting firms' favorite target: the misunderstood Millennial. And female ones at that, oh boy! I bet this research is going to be compelling and fascinating and show us so much we don't already know about this misunderstood yet massive chunk of the workforce.

Wrong.

Key findings about the #femalemillennial

  • The female millennial represents a new era of female talent.
  • Female millennials are more career-confident and ambitious than their previous generations.
  • Diversity is very much front of mind.
  • A gender role model gap still exists.
  • Work-life strategies are critical.
  • Global careers are high on the agenda.
  • A feedback culture is encouraged.
  • Female millennials are financially empowered.

Of 10,105 millennial respondents from over 70 countries worldwide, 8,756 were female millennials — which, for the sake of this report includes anyone born in 1980 up to 1995.

Thankfully, the researchers acknowledged that jaded old Millennials such as myself might have a different viewpoint from the younger ones who were barely born by the time we were working at McDonald's in high school. These things being what they are, we're still lumped together because how else would we perpetuate Millennial stereotypes about craving diversity and constant feedback?

This report aims to provide insights into the minds of the female millennial; however, we recognise that the experience of a 34-year-old millennial woman with 12 years’ work experience and an established career will be very different to the experience of a 22-year-old millennial woman just starting out on her career. So, rather than focus on a holistic view of the female millennial, this report digs deeper into the views and experiences of the female millennial using a career-stage differential. We take a closer look at critical differences on key factors of importance to the female millennial through the lens of the career starter, the career developer and the career establisher.

What do we know about these mysterious Sasquatches of the workforce?

Strangely, despite being more educated and more driven than the women who came before them, less than half of female Millennials surveyed think they can make it to the highest levels at their company, despite saying "career progression" is the most attractive trait in an employer:

Forty-nine percent of female millennial career starters said they feel they will be able to rise to the most senior levels with their current employer, making her more career confident than her previous generations.

You'll note the old Millennials like me ("The Career Establishers") are less optimistic about their opportunities, with only 39% confident they can rise to senior levels at their current employer:

Now let's talk about diversity. Personally, I don't know a single person in the 18 – 34 age group who turned down a good job offer because the workplace wasn't diverse enough. But just as the firms pay lip service to diversity, the survey respondents claim they prioritize diversity. That said, they do notice that employers are good at talking the talk but not so much at walking the walk:

We'll leave you with one more obvious graphic and let you read the rest of the report if you're fascinated by things you already know:

It's the 3% I'm really worried about. Work isn't everything, you know.