While the unequal pay gap in the workplace (or in Hollywood) is not a new concept, nor one of past times (unfortunately), it seems women under the age of 35 are now more optimistic about equality for women at work, according to a recent poll.
According to The Huffington Post, the poll was conducted by the Thomson Reuters Foundation with support by The Rockefeller Foundation, organizations both dedicated to equality and aid for marginalized groups and communities. The foundations surveyed 9,500 women from 19 nations across the globe in the G20 (an international summit of the governments of 20 major economies that include 19 countries and the European Union), as part of their project to increase the amount of women on the job force. The survey found that young millennials were more positive than previous generations about labor issues, ranging from equal pay to the effects of motherhood on their career.
Forty-three percent of women under 35 believed they could receive equal pay, compared to 34 percent of women between ages 50 and 64 who thought the same thing. In terms of balancing motherhood with their careers, 48 percent of millennial women said they could handle it, with 45 percent of women ages 35 to 64 saying the same. Forty percent of millennials also say they could start their own business with the same amount of success as their male counterparts, compared to only 33 pecent of women ages 50 to 64. It's great to see that despite persistent sexism at work, women are finally starting to feel more confident.
However, the poll found that almost a third of women in the G20 have been harassed in the workplace but only a few spoke out. Also, four in ten women say that the gender pay gap is still the top priority in workplace issues for women. Despite developments of the pay gap closing, a study from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research say that if current trends continue, the pay gap will not close until 2059.
While it can be hard to be positive, we can only hope that with each new generation comes greater opportunity, resulting in greater hope for an equal workplace.