2020 is the year Millennials are projected to make up 50% of our workforce – even as Gen Zs continue to enter the workplace in increasing numbers. This year will also boast an increasingly competitive talent landscape, as approximately 177,000 Baby Boomers are expected to exit the US labor force each month! There are many approaches you can take to be the employer of choice amid these changes. The need to do so is obvious. However, there are three approaches Transformation Journeys Worldwide can provide to give your organization an advantage over most of your competitors. Each approach is expertly designed to attract and retain the best talent among Millennials and Gen Zs – who are more diverse in their gender identities and gender expressions, and more demanding of inclusivity, than any previous generations.
FIRST WAY TO BE THE EMPLOYER OF CHOICE: BEST PRACTICES
We all understand the importance of best practices. But did you know that in order to attract and retain Millennial and Gen Z top talent, you need much more than a 100-score on the HRC’s Corporate Equality Index, Gender Transition Guidelines and transition-related medical benefits? Our new training, Best Practices for Creating Trans and Non-binary Inclusive Cultures, empowers you and all your leaders to see the comprehensive organizational approach companies must take – and are taking - to create an attractive culture of trans and non-binary inclusion throughout your entire operation. Along with considering various policies and benefits, we discuss talent acquisition practices, facilities, marketing efforts, community engagement, and the roles of E/BRGs, along with other areas. Best Practices also equips you to actually take steps, as leaders in your respective areas, to create a culture of inclusion.
The Business Case: Gender Diversity Among Millenials and Gen Zs
In this new training, you also learn the business case reasons for engaging in these best practices – and attracting best talent is at the top of the list! You may already be aware of the growing body of evidence showing that Millennials and Gen Zs are indeed, gender diverse. For example, on the eve of our new decade, Merriam Webster announced they as its “2019 Word of the Year” based on the number of times it had been looked up last year. In September, the increased lookups and growing use of the singular they had prompted Merriam Webster to add the non-binary definition of they to their dictionary: “used to refer to a single person whose gender identity is nonbinary.” Likewise, a 2018 Pew Research Center Report indicated that the percentage of respondents who personally knew someone who uses gender-neutral pronouns (like they) increased significantly from generation to generation:
Baby Boomer 12%
Gen X 16%
Millennial 25%
Gen Z 35%
The Pew Research Center also reports that as of November 2019, thirteen states and the District of Columbia legally recognize their non-binary and intersex resident’s diversity by offering them an “X” gender marker on their drivers’ licenses. Four more states are set to follow suit in 2020. In response to this reality, United Airlines has added an “X” gender marker to their passengers’ choices. American Airlines is poised to make the same move, and other US carriers are planning to add this new designation to their current M/F options, as well.
These cultural developments are indicators of the rise in gender diversity and are a clear mandate for your company to implement the Best Practices we share in our new training.