round the world, movements of young people calling for justice and equity—from demands for better governance to climate strikes to protests for social justice—reveal their determination to craft a better world. We're witnessing visible evidence of Gen Z’s commitment to tackling systemic inequity and putting their skin in the game to work towards a just and sustainable future.
During this week of International Youth Day, which celebrates the potential of youth as partners in today’s global society, it is imperative to consider how to support and encourage this rising generation’s commitment to shape a better world. As a social entrepreneur who has spent more than three decades building a network that develops young leaders to address systemic inequities in countries around the world, I’ve come to believe that one of our biggest societal priorities should be to evolve the norms and realities that drive early job choices.
Data from the Deloitte Global 2024 Gen Z and Millennial Survey show that among their lowest–ranked considerations when deciding to work for their current employer were these three: its values and purpose align with my own, the positive impact it has upon wider society, and the opportunities it gives me to address social problems.
While this may seem surprising given this generation’s values and the visibility of the challenges threatening our world, many young people are making thoughtful job choices driven by important factors from financial stability to work/life balance to advancing their professional development. They are also rightly assuming they can have a positive impact through daily interactions, advocacy, volunteerism, and pro bono work. Their thinking reflects society’s prevailing norms; we view jobs like we view houses—they’re there to meet our needs, and then it’s what we do within them that we have control over.
The challenge, however, is that these early job choices shape who young people become and what they will do in the future. Many assume they will ultimately find their way to social impact careers after making money and gaining skills, but experience across the Teach For All network shows that early career experiences shape priorities and ultimate career destinations—and whether young people gain the understandings, beliefs and mindsets necessary to make a significant difference.
Research about the impact of making a two–year commitment to teach in under–resourced communities through a Teach For All network organization shows significant impacts on participants’ identification with marginalized communities, their views of the root causes of inequity, their professional networks, career priorities, and civic engagement. Seventy–five percent of the people worldwide who make these two–year commitments—who come from all academic majors and career interests—continue working full–time, long–term in jobs that relate to this mission, as teachers, school leaders, policymakers, social innovators and advocates.
Participation in peaceful protest is a huge part of creating the discourse, culture, and pressure to affect progress in the social and political spheres, but we also need the same young people who are advocating for change to be working in the arena, doing the heavy lifting of implementing the change needed. We need some of the world’s most committed and conscious people deeply understanding the root issues, devising the solutions and executing them, and learning and continuously improving on these solutions over time. Anyone who works in the social sector recognizes that extraordinary talent is our greatest need.
As parents, influencers, and educators, we must do more to build awareness about the challenges facing society and what it will take to tackle them, to foster a sense of agency among young people and provide exposure to social impact careers that will enable them to act on it, and to foster intentionality about where they put their full–time energy.
Our institutions of higher education in particular must consider their responsibility to foster such intentionality. Many colleges and universities have inspiring purposes about creating citizens of the world. Yet they profess neutrality when it comes to their graduates’ early job choices despite the evidence about their formative nature. Making matters worse, they also require prospective employers to “pay to play” in career service offices.
Colleges and universities should step back to reflect on how to maximize the extent to which their graduates contribute to tackling the world’s greatest threats. Among other things, they can consider what courses they require their graduates to take; create rituals that foster reflection on values and their implications for job choices; stop corporate career funneling that channels first–year students into summer internships providing rich compensation before they have a chance to consider what they want to do with their lives; and provide students with many more opportunities to explore jobs that align with their values.
In the social sector, we have a unique opportunity to inspire and enable Gen Z to join our ranks by emphasizing that careers dedicated to making the world a better place are fulfilling both personally and professionally. We must champion the idea that those who choose impactful careers should be well–compensated relative to those who pursue work with limited social impact. Additionally, we should structure our organizations to ensure that individuals can achieve personal well–being and sustainability.
Gen Z, we need you to choose jobs that will put you on a path to changing the trajectory of the world. Will you tackle the entrenched systemic inequities that persist in every sector? Will you dedicate your time and energy to making crucial transitions in the world’s energy, transportation, and food systems to ensure the sustainability of our planet? Will you work towards fostering peace in areas of conflict?
Your generation has the power to drive transformative change. It is increasingly clear that our future is at risk, making your choices about what to do with your most precious resource—your time and energy—more important than ever.
a global affairs media network
The rising generation needs a norm–shift on early job choices
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash
August 15, 2024
The younger generations are those who will most likely transform our world. Encouraging early–career choices to support that is critical to our future, writes Wendy Kopp.
A
round the world, movements of young people calling for justice and equity—from demands for better governance to climate strikes to protests for social justice—reveal their determination to craft a better world. We're witnessing visible evidence of Gen Z’s commitment to tackling systemic inequity and putting their skin in the game to work towards a just and sustainable future.
During this week of International Youth Day, which celebrates the potential of youth as partners in today’s global society, it is imperative to consider how to support and encourage this rising generation’s commitment to shape a better world. As a social entrepreneur who has spent more than three decades building a network that develops young leaders to address systemic inequities in countries around the world, I’ve come to believe that one of our biggest societal priorities should be to evolve the norms and realities that drive early job choices.
Data from the Deloitte Global 2024 Gen Z and Millennial Survey show that among their lowest–ranked considerations when deciding to work for their current employer were these three: its values and purpose align with my own, the positive impact it has upon wider society, and the opportunities it gives me to address social problems.
While this may seem surprising given this generation’s values and the visibility of the challenges threatening our world, many young people are making thoughtful job choices driven by important factors from financial stability to work/life balance to advancing their professional development. They are also rightly assuming they can have a positive impact through daily interactions, advocacy, volunteerism, and pro bono work. Their thinking reflects society’s prevailing norms; we view jobs like we view houses—they’re there to meet our needs, and then it’s what we do within them that we have control over.
The challenge, however, is that these early job choices shape who young people become and what they will do in the future. Many assume they will ultimately find their way to social impact careers after making money and gaining skills, but experience across the Teach For All network shows that early career experiences shape priorities and ultimate career destinations—and whether young people gain the understandings, beliefs and mindsets necessary to make a significant difference.
Research about the impact of making a two–year commitment to teach in under–resourced communities through a Teach For All network organization shows significant impacts on participants’ identification with marginalized communities, their views of the root causes of inequity, their professional networks, career priorities, and civic engagement. Seventy–five percent of the people worldwide who make these two–year commitments—who come from all academic majors and career interests—continue working full–time, long–term in jobs that relate to this mission, as teachers, school leaders, policymakers, social innovators and advocates.
Participation in peaceful protest is a huge part of creating the discourse, culture, and pressure to affect progress in the social and political spheres, but we also need the same young people who are advocating for change to be working in the arena, doing the heavy lifting of implementing the change needed. We need some of the world’s most committed and conscious people deeply understanding the root issues, devising the solutions and executing them, and learning and continuously improving on these solutions over time. Anyone who works in the social sector recognizes that extraordinary talent is our greatest need.
As parents, influencers, and educators, we must do more to build awareness about the challenges facing society and what it will take to tackle them, to foster a sense of agency among young people and provide exposure to social impact careers that will enable them to act on it, and to foster intentionality about where they put their full–time energy.
Our institutions of higher education in particular must consider their responsibility to foster such intentionality. Many colleges and universities have inspiring purposes about creating citizens of the world. Yet they profess neutrality when it comes to their graduates’ early job choices despite the evidence about their formative nature. Making matters worse, they also require prospective employers to “pay to play” in career service offices.
Colleges and universities should step back to reflect on how to maximize the extent to which their graduates contribute to tackling the world’s greatest threats. Among other things, they can consider what courses they require their graduates to take; create rituals that foster reflection on values and their implications for job choices; stop corporate career funneling that channels first–year students into summer internships providing rich compensation before they have a chance to consider what they want to do with their lives; and provide students with many more opportunities to explore jobs that align with their values.
In the social sector, we have a unique opportunity to inspire and enable Gen Z to join our ranks by emphasizing that careers dedicated to making the world a better place are fulfilling both personally and professionally. We must champion the idea that those who choose impactful careers should be well–compensated relative to those who pursue work with limited social impact. Additionally, we should structure our organizations to ensure that individuals can achieve personal well–being and sustainability.
Gen Z, we need you to choose jobs that will put you on a path to changing the trajectory of the world. Will you tackle the entrenched systemic inequities that persist in every sector? Will you dedicate your time and energy to making crucial transitions in the world’s energy, transportation, and food systems to ensure the sustainability of our planet? Will you work towards fostering peace in areas of conflict?
Your generation has the power to drive transformative change. It is increasingly clear that our future is at risk, making your choices about what to do with your most precious resource—your time and energy—more important than ever.
