THE ZILLENNIAL SQUAD – Tamara Abusara Darwich Eisenhower

Youth Fellow

This report will take the reader through my research regarding gender and generations, I have

included extracts from my thesis, infographics that were made as a result of the interviews I

conducted as well as first hand experiences I lived which shaped me and my interest in this

topic. Books such as “Lean In” by Sheryl Sandberg and the endless articles and thought

leadership reports have educated me and allowed to feel passionate about this topic. The

reason why I decided to focus my Eisenhower Youth Fellow project into creating a “support

squad” for young women came from first-hand experience of the beneficial and positive effect

this has on the young professionals around me. There is so much talent, compassion and a

hunger for learning and excelling in this young generation of women, all we have to do is take a

look at the Eisenhower Youth Fellows to see this. It is important that these ladies feel supported,

motivated and empowered and in the following pages I am hoping to guide you through my

thoughts, reasoning, research and motivations.

Images with Inspiring Eisenhower Youth

Fellows

THE ZILLENNIAL SQUAD

Did you know that for the first time in history four

different generations1 are collaborating in the

modern workplace? Have you ever heard of the

“modesty syndrome”, “imposter effect” or the “opt-

out” revolution? Did you realise that the millennial

generation has different characteristics and

perspectives on work in comparison to previous generations? This is the labor organization of

the 21st century, where now women are participating actively in the workforce and are reaching

senior positions more than ever across history. Despite all this, the current workplace is far from

being an equal arena for both genders, especially when it comes to reaching and achieving

leadership roles. You are probably aware that women´s roles are undergoing worldwide change,

however the degree to which this transition is truly revolutionary remains unclear.

All these questions and thoughts motivated me towards researching and investigating more

about generational and women related aspects. During my Bachelor I decided to pursue this

interest further and write my thesis on Millennial Women. My thesis has also inspired many of

my daily actions, my comments, clubs joined, my Eisenhower Fellowship project and now this

report. When talking to other people about the topic of women and equality, the majority (of both

genders) tends to claim that we are now equal, there is nothing more to be done or that women

now have more rights than ever. While many of these points could be partially true and although

I am not negating that we have definitely come a long way in terms of women’s rights, we are

still nowhere near equality and most definitely not at a Global scale.

It is safe to say that the work environment in which

traditionalists and baby boomers encountered when

they began their careers has advanced and changed

incredibly. In fact, this is the first time in history that

four different generations are collaborating in the

same workplace. The 21st century is also a time in

which women are actively participating professionally

more than ever. Despite the fact that women are increasingly joining the labor force all around

1 Traditionalists (1925 and 1945), Baby Boomers (1946 and 1964), Generation X (1965 and1980) and Millennials

(1980 and 1999). Kapoor & Solomon (2011).

the world (The Economist, 2006), even in organizations that place emphasis on gender equality

women are still underrepresented in the majority of senior-level management positions (Gino and

Brooks, 2015). What is more, according to a very recent study/ analysis by Catalyst.org, that

serves to stylize this point, women CEO´s represent a scanty 5% of the S&P 500 (April 2015). It

is evident that although women have gone a long way fighting and seeking for their rights, there

are still many areas of change remaining and waiting to be tackled.

During the course of history, we (humans) have recompiled literature that doesn’t simply focus on

gender or specifically women and the advantages that we add in the professional world, research

has also investigated what are the differences (if any other than physical) between men and

women. Through the course of my investigation on the topic of women, I have observed and

carefully listened to society´s point of view on this matter. It so happens that some people agree

that gender differences are enormous whereas others believe that we don’t differ as much in the

way we think. Some people raised the question of biology, “it´s all in the M.R.I” (Amsbary), in fact

studies proved that women and men’s

brains “light up” in a different way when

feeling or thinking, henceforth those

brains predictably will lean towards

different choices. Cornier (Retaining Top

Women Business Leaders: Strategies

For Ending the Exodus, 2007) concludes

that “women leaders are not men in

skirts […] they have their own set of

needs, dreams, ambitions and

talents[…]”.

Now that it is settled that women and men do indeed think differently, I wanted to explain why I

ended up focusing or adding an extra element to the equation – generation. The fact is that, in

the same way that women and men are different, each generation is also different and this is

mainly due to the shared experiences that affected them. For example, a generation raised during

recession behaves differently than one raised during a war, I wanted to us this extract of my thesis

to show the research behind generational changes:

Review of Generation Focused Literature

“When I was your age I…” I hardly believe that anyone has gone through life without hearing this

sweet yet sour sentence from our beloved parents, grandparents or relatives. Their aim is usually

to compare their behaviour to yours, but the actual outcome is a realization of the vast differences

that exist between each generation and generation.

The “it” generation of our present time is the Millennial Generation, born between 1980 and 1995,

this generation is attracting an enormous amount of attention from the biggest multinational

companies. Professors and scholars are analysing, observing and studying the behaviour of the

millennial generation with the aim of finally understanding the reasoning behind their behaviour

and their so called “bizarre” motivations. Millennials distinguish themselves physically with tattoos,

piercings, electronic “gadgets” such as iPhone, Batband, Bose headphones amongst others.

(Hira, 2007; Shaw and Fairhust, 2008). This generation has been brought up around technology;

hence embraces it effortlessly, they also approach change very comfortably. PwC´s NextGen

Study mentioned that in comparison to their non-millennial counterparts, they have higher

expectations in relation to appreciation and support from their organizations (PwC´s NextGen: A

Global Generational Study 2013). It has also been proven that millennials have great ability to

multitask, are expressive and confident, favour mentor-like managers and have preference

towards working with small goals and tight deadlines (Kapoor and Solomon, 2011). Finally it has

been said that millennials are “much less forgiving of ineptitude” in contrast to previous

generations (Herbison and Boesman, 2009).

Generation X, are those born between 1965 and 1980, characteristics that define them include

independent, individualistic, survival-minded, often cynical, open to diversity and want to be in

control2. Generally speaking, generation X have a preference to work alone more than working

in teams as it is said that they lack interpersonal skills, despite this they are good at multi-tasking

in a similar manner than millennials. In fact, they enjoy working on simultaneous projects or tasks

with the condition of being able to prioritize them (Gursoy et al., 2008). Gen Xers attempt to

achieve balance, they “work to live, they don’t live to work” (Wendover, 2009)

Baby Boomer is the generation that comes before Generation X, they are born between 1946 and

1964; they tend to be resistant to change, cannot multitask easily and experience a certain

difficulty in learning new tricks (Dahlroth, 2008). Baby boomers are likely to be idealistic and keen

2 Table – Phyllis Weiss Haserot of Practice Development Counsel (GenX and GenY)(IOMA´s Report, 2004)

to sacrifice both professionally and personally with the aim of achieving success (Glass, 2007).

As opposed to Generation X, this generation lives to work and have particular respect for

hierarchy and authority, probably due to the fact that the environment they were brought up in

was heavily influenced by this (Lehto et al., 2006).

Traditionalists are also known as the Silent Generation, born between 1925 and 1945, this

generation has been marked by all the traumatic world events that occurred during the

behavioural shaping years of their lives. Traditionalists lived through World War Two, the Great

Depression and it is likely that a large majority of them have endured poverty at some point of

their lifetime (Kapoor and Solomon, 2011). The fact is that shocking events have an effect on

personality and behaviour, the way these were imprinted into this generation can be seen in their

somewhat “frugal and cautious or risk-averse” attitude (Lehto et al., 2006). Traditionalists question

authority rarely as they are very respectful of the law and believe in institutions (Spiro, 2006;

Simons, 2009).

To conclude, it is obvious and noticeable that generational differences are present and what

makes us diverse is that we are marked by the occurrences that happen during our life time. As

a result from these difference one must work towards understanding each other in order to

unleash the full potential of each individual regardless of the generation they belong in.

What motivated “The Zillennial Squad”

It is clear that I am very passionate about the topic of millennial and Generation Z women, and I

know that there is lots of talent and kind hearted young women waiting to be united. It was not

until I had a first-hand experience with what would be “the zillennial squad” that I realized the

positive impact this could have. One day one of my flatmates walked into the kitchen confused

and frustrated about what to do with her professional career, she is a very hard working nurse,

working long shifts and giving her best every day. She heard about an opportunity to combine

her current hospitals work while covering some shifts at an agency. The agency had a much

higher hourly rate, the hospitals were newer and the systems used were completely innovative.

My flatmate not only felt intimidated by all this but also started questioning her abilities,

something very normal according to the research shown above. She was so stressed, her

immediate response was to put it aside even though this was an opportunity with both economic

rewards and professional development. Hence my instant response was, “bring a pen and a

paper and come here and sit with me”, and we drafted a “short term life plan” for her. In this plan

where we assessed all options with their pros and cons, as well as analysed all the steps and

application process for the new job opportunity. By the time we were done, we had a few

laughs, we mapped everything clear on paper and had the next steps laid down. My flatmate

updated me on each step of the way and constantly sent encouragement her way, soon enough

we got to know that she got accepted! On her first day she was very nervous and started

questioning her abilities again, I reassured her she was going to do a good job and by the end

of the day this is the text message I received from her:

At the end of the day, having that extra

encouragement, support and help, motivated her to go

for a better professional opportunity, learn and develop

new skills which will then allow her to continue

excelling. In this case, my flatmate didn’t need a senior

mentor to help her, just another young Gen

Z/Millennial going through the same struggles,

needing the same encouragement and wanting to help

others from the bottom of her heart. This is not at all

aiming to devalue the help from senior mentoring as

they are highly needed, inspiring and provide well

experienced feedback. Yet this just proves that having

a community of young women who can openly share

the struggles, successes, motivations or even interests

can take us all a long way!

It was then when I had my “aha” moment and decided

to work on creating the Zillennial Squad (Millennial &

Gen Z women)

Primary Research Infographics

I made the following infographics using the primary research I collected through my interviews

to Millennial Women. Some of these infographics are targeting particular “syndromes” that

research has shown women tend to suffer from at certain points of their life. These are the “opt-

out” syndrome, the “modesty syndrome” and “imposter effect”.

“Opting-Out” essentially means leaving the work place, in this case scenario it is usually women

who choose the option to embrace the “so-called neo-traditional values and to prefer—and

choose—family over professional accomplishment”3. In essence and in simple terms,

meaningful historical combats and battles have served to give females possibilities and options,

what is occurring is that a portion of these women (that are as a result now choice unrestricted)

3 Stone, 2013, Gender and Work Challenging Conventional Wisdom, Research Symposium, Harvard Business

Review

are in fact choosing the option of leaving or “Opting-Out”. This “Opting-Out” revolution has been

extensively dispersed amongst popular media, as well as in conventional and high-profile

publications that serve as an influence to a wide-ranging audience (Kuperberg & Stone, 2008).

The “Feminine Modesty Syndrome” was born as a result of a social psychology prevalent

finding that discovered that while men persistently self-promote themselves, women have the

tendency to under-represent their accomplishments (Berg et al., 1981). Attributable to the fact

that girls have been socialized in an environment that dictates they will experience better

outcomes if their success is non-threatening or non-competitive the modesty syndrome arises.

In fact, this matter is of such importance that it has drawn in lots of recurrent attention by

scholars who reached the conclusion that women downplay their accomplishments in public in

order to elude being perceived as unfeminine, (Gould and Slone, 1982; Daubman and Singail,

1997; Rudman and Glick, 1999). The problem behind this isn’t merely the female tendency to be

an introvert with her accomplishments, but due to the fact that women claim success less

frequently than men, in return they also obtain less recognition (Tannen, 1994; Budworth and

Mann, 2010).

“The gremlins in my head telling me I am not good enough”, this is how Maryam Pasha

(TedXEastEnd speaker), funnily described and depicted what the “Imposter Syndrome” is and

what it felt like to be a victim of it. Technically speaking, a definition of the “Imposter Syndrome”

could be “a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success”4. The so

called ‘Imposters’ have an inclination of feeling like they are intellectually fraudulent as well

suffering self-doubt chronically, what is worse, these feelings act predominantly to any

successful accomplishment or actual proof of their competence.

In the following infographics I hope to depict these concepts more clearly through real-life

examples and interviews

4 Overcoming Imposter Syndrome, Corkindale, 2008, Harvard Business Review

Conclusions & My Plan For “The Zillennial Squad”

All of the above compilation of research is a small representation of how passionate I am about

this topic. I am very conscious that women have come a long way already and this is all thanks

to all the amazing women that fought for us and united to make today’s generation of women what

we are. Having said this, it is not the moment to relax, we must continue empowering one another

and making sure that we continue moving forward.

For this, I decided to focus my Eisenhower Youth Fellowship Project on young women, where

through the Zillennial Squad they will be able to find the support, encouragement and

empowerment they need. Just like the example with my flatmate, I am sure many young ladies

have lots of support to give and advice to seek. My plan is to start working on this squad in London,

approaching friends, co-workers and other talented Zillennials to join this community. Hopefully

in October we can inspire the other 10 youth fellows during the Women’s Conference to start their

own groups in their communities as well.

To conclude, I wanted to thank the Eisenhower Fellowship Organization for allowing me to live

this amazing experience and for honoring me in being one of the Eisenhower Youth Fellows.

APPENDIX – Interviews From My Thesis

In-Depth Interviews with Senior Level Women

1. If you had to focus on millennial women in particular (born 1980-1995), what would you say are the key cross-generational differences? In your opinion what are their biggest mistakes? (How different or similar are they to yours?)

2. What would you say are the female qualities that impulse women towards achieving their

professional goals?

3. If you had to give Millennial Women three recommendations as a result of your experience what would they be?