Great Expectations?

Is there a time in one’s life where we have to concede that our expectations do not Match reality? Are the rules and morals that were instilled in us by the survivors of the “Great Generation” no longer applicable? Were the stereotypes we grew up with just Fiction and are we wrong for having passed on some of these unachievable expectancies to our children and their peers?

As Business & Tech owners, bosses, and supervisors, do we expect too much of a Workforce Group which has had to adapt or face extinction more than once. Do we still expect men to assume the Power-broker roles in the workforce, while women juggle HOME, Family, and Careers? How much progress has been made since the last of the Baby Boomers entered the work force? Have our expectations of being equal been achieved?

The 1980ies gave us acid-washed jeans, leg warmers and Devo, but we also saw the emergence of McDonald's Chicken Nuggets, Nintendo Gameboys and the Microsoft Windows Personal Computer; and a new POP-culture TV mom. "Family Ties" and "The Cosby Show,” portrayed women who had post-undergraduate degrees and were juggling their careers as they raised their children.

Both TV shows made it clear that a woman needed an identity outside of her family and the ability to bring in an income in order to thrive in the modern world. Evidently, that was an influence, as over two-thirds of all women work outside the home. Less than 30% of today’s women identify as stay-at-home moms.

Back in 1984 "the Atlantic” found that only 37 percent of all women between the ages of 20-64, and 41 percent of all women between the ages of 25-44 held full-time year-round jobs; this included the teaching, where women far out-numbered men. Yet only 29 percent of married women held full-time year-round jobs. That same year married women contributed an average of only 18.6 percent of the total incomes of their families.

Women now hold 50.04 percent of all USAJOBS; experts believe this upward trend will continue and will accelerate, while the number of men in the workforce will continue to decline. However, only 27.1% of women are Managers and LEADERS; over 60 percent of women believe Motherhood disrupts their advancement opportunities and forced them to conform to stereotypical jobs such as NURSING.com, Teaching, and Marketing/Public Relations/Fundraising professionals.

Despite an increased need for IT, Cybersecurity and Infosys Data and Analytics, these fields are still male dominated. Over the past two decades the number of women software engineers has increased just two percent, an unsettling statistic if you consider, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected demand for software development engineers to rise by 22%, over the next decade.

 

It has been reported that number of job openings in the United States rose to 10.925 million in December 2021 from an upwardly revised 10.775 million in the previous month and above market expectations of 10.3 million. The level of openings remained near record highs, as employers and recruiters were still having a difficult time filling position. Their expectations don't match the Proven Reality of the workforce's needs.

 

Are we failing our young women? If, in 2022, women (and men for that matter) are still struggling to balance family life with careers, becoming exhausted, or making choices to preserve a job, then the answer is yes!

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