Gender Shift: The Millennial Generation

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Millennials & GenderNovember 2010

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Millennials and Gender>

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What We’ll Cover Today

_ About the Study

_ Shaped by Boomers

_ Women Unleashed

_ The Masculine Miasma

_ Blurred Roles and Identities

_ What Do Millennials Want?

_ What It Means for Brands

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U.S.n=600

Francen=600

U.K.n=600

About the Study

_Proprietary online survey by MicroDialogue, summer 2010_ 500 aged 18–25 and 100 aged 40–55 in each of 5 markets (n=3,000); data

in deck comes from millennials only_ Due to enormous cultural and historical differences influencing gender in

East vs. West, we’re focusing here only on gender relations in France, U.K., and U.S.

_Extensive secondary research

_Contributions from Euro RSCG agencies in Europe and U.S.

Chinan=600

Indian=600

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Inheriting a World Shaped by Boomers

Image: Creative Commons/[email protected] Image: Creative Commons/SpreePiX-Berlin.com

Image: Creative Commons/WilliamsProjects.com

Digital Advances

A generation of hothouse

flowers— cosseted and watched over

Attitudes and Culture

Youthful rebellion, freedom— more openness about sex and pleasure

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Life Before Women’s Lib?

Image: Creative Commons/[email protected] Image: Creative Commons/[email protected]


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To Millennials, It’s Unreal!

Millennials are not only digital natives, they are also native to a gender- remapped society

Image: Creative Commons/[email protected]: Creative Commons/[email protected] Image: Creative Commons/[email protected]

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Hence, the Generational Disconnect

Image: Creative Commons/[email protected]


“I am not a feminist. I hail men. I love men.”

-Lady Gaga“I'm not some Tammy Wynette

standing by my man.” —Hillary Clinton

b. 1947

b. 1986

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In <40 Years, We’ve Gone from This…

“Bill—I’m annoyed over this! Let 1,000 alumni sons or other well qualified guys

in FIRST—their livelihood depends

on a university education. Women’s

DON’T!”

1972 note from director of development Arthur J. Horton to Princeton University president William G. Bowen on eve of Princeton’s admitting women

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…to This…

_ 57% of bachelor degrees

_ 61% of master’s

_ 51% of doctorate degrees

In the last 1/3 of 20th century, in every society in which females have been given equal access to education, they have proved more than equal to males.

Image: NorthernSun.com

Outperform boys at every level academically

_ 56% of students in higher education

_ Outperform boys at all levels of education

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…and This:

_Women are primary or co-breadwinner for 2/3 of families

_Btwn 1997 and 2007, # of women-owned businesses +44%, 2x as fast as men-owned firms

_40 years ago, women owned 5% of small businesses; now they own 30%

Source: Jobs and Economic Security for America’s Women, National Economic Council, October 2010 Image: Creative Commons/[email protected]

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“A Man Should Earn More than His Female Partner”

21

14

30

16

6

15

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

UK France US

% Agree

Male Female

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Workplace is Increasingly a Woman’s World

_Rise of post-industrial economies and spread of technology have made world of work gender neutral

_Most jobs, especially high-paying jobs, don’t require physical strength or endurance—there’s no intrinsic advantage to being male

_Many emerging jobs require skills that come more naturally to women; in fact, men dominate just 2 of the 15 job categories projected to grow most over next decade

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New Rules: Tone Down the Testosterone

_Today’s highly civilized, highly networked societies rely on complex rules and restrictions; they leave little scope for old- style testosterone-driven aggression

_Increasing emphasis on more “female” styles of cooperation and collaboration

_Suggestions that women in power might have averted financial crisis

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/0,9263,7601021230,00.html

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Which Is Not to Say Women’s Struggle is Over…

_Almost 50 years after Equal Pay Act, women are still paid 77¢ to man’s $1

_Only 2.6% of Fortune 500 cos are led by female CEO; only 15.2% of their board seats are filled by women

_At top 100 law firms, only 17% of equity partners are women

Source: Jobs and Economic Security for America’s Women, National Economic Council, October 2010

…but millennials are less apt to perceive institutionalized sexism or believe barriers will keep them as individuals down; we’ve entered postfeminist era

Image: [email protected]

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Millennials and Gender>16

…but the Trend Is Clearly UP

“Women live longer than men. They do better in this economy.

More of ’em graduate from college. They go into space and

do everything men do, and sometimes they do it a whole lot better. I mean, hell, get out of

the way—these females are going to leave us males in the dust.”

—Ronald Ericsson, biologist who pioneered sperm separation for gender selection

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“It Will be Women Who Lead the Change in the World”

43 43

35

6559

54

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

US France UK

% Agree

Male Female

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And What of Millennial Guys?

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The Boy Crisis (TrueEquality.com)

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And That’s Not Just in the West

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Gender Once Came with Clear-Cut Guidelines…

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Now Roles Are Less Distinct


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“A Man Should Be Masculine”

46

37

59

49 49 49

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

UK France US

% Agree

Male Female

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“A Woman Should Be Feminine”

5662

4943

5448

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

US France UK

% Agree

Male Female

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For women, the dissolution of gender boundaries has meant more freedom and opportunity—a chance to broaden their identities

For men, it has caused confusion

If a man is no longer head of household, sexual aggressor, protector, and provider…what is he?

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Seriously, What Are Men For?

_All through history women have been regarded as secondary to men in status and value

_Now science has shown that female, not male, is the default gender for all embryos

_The short Y-chromosome that determines male sex is gradually losing its genes and could become extinct

_With IVF and same-sex relationships well established, there is serious discussion about whether men are necessary at all

Unlike any previous generation, millennials

have grown up in a media environment that is

coming to regard women as the mainstays and

men as secondary

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Image: Creative Commons/jonathan [email protected]

Getting a Little Nervous?

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And yet, millennial women aren’t looking to take over the world

They want partners they can count on…

…and even some degree of return to tradition

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“Men Should Be the Ones to Lead and Initiate in Romance”

33

18

24

44

26

41

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

US France UK

% Agree

Male Female

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They Don’t Want to Have or Do It All; They Want Balance

_Millennial women have seen firsthand that for previous generations of women, “having it all” also meant “doing it all”

_Their response: “No thanks”

_Unlike their feminist mothers, they don’t feel they have anything to prove in the workplace, and they aren’t willing to sacrifice everything for a paycheck


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“Which of the Following Best Describes Your Ambition in Life?”

Living with Someone I’ve Chosen

Being Rich Being Famous

Having an Exciting Job

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27

39

38

26

17

13

22

9

13

11

23

2

4

2

1

1

5

31

26

41

35

29

24

24

21

9

13

33

32

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Feeling Useful to Society

U.S. Male

U.S. Female

French Female

French Male

U.K. Male

U.K. Female

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“What Do You Look at First When Looking for a Job?”

Salary Company Ethics Company Product(s)

Work Atmosphere

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46

29

33

30

32

4

7

5

4

6

8

4

4

3

6

4

4

18

20

24

24

22

26

42

24

40

33

38

30

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Ability to Balance Work and Life

U.S. Male

U.S. Female

French Female

French Male

U.K. Male

U.K. Female

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Mostly, They Want Each Other

Image: Creative Commons/[email protected]; [email protected]

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Which of the Following Best Describes What “Happiness” Means to You?

Freedom Money Power Love

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20

18

22

13

22

5

11

4

9

2

12

1

3

2

4

2

3

61

43

57

48

62

42

13

22

9

12

16

20

4

1

10

6

5

2

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Friendship Having Children

U.S. Male

U.S. Female

French Female

French Male

U.K. Male

U.K. Female

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“What Is Your Biggest Fear for the Future?”

Being poor

Being homeless

Being sick

Being bored

Being unsuccessful

Being alone

Males Females

Being poor

Being homeless

Being sick

Being bored

Being unsuccessful

Being alone

Though ratings were close, the genders lean slightly toward tradition, with millennial men fearing poverty and lack of success more than do women, while women are more fearful of being alone.

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What Does It Mean for Marketers?

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Stop and Think

_Just because it’s the postfeminist era doesn’t mean we’re not going to notice sexist stereotypes

_We were far from the only ones to notice iPad ads showing a man reading the NYT or WSJ, while a woman is busy creating a photo album or reading a Nicholas Sparks novel


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Stop Man-Bashing

_Millennial men and women aren’t at war—and never have been

_Young women want to be able to count on men, and it’s not helpful to either sex to constantly see men (especially husbands) depicted as less than capable or responsible

_Let’s see more role models and fewer buffoons

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Toss Out Gender Prescriptions

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For more insights from Euro RSCG research, please visit www.prosumer-

report.com.

And follow us on Twitter (@prosumer_report).

http://www.prosumer-report.com/

http://www.prosumer-report.com/

http://twitter.com/#!/prosumer_report

Gender Shift: The Millennial Generation

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