“A woman is like a tea bag — you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
Jay Ledesma
As we culminate the celebration of the International Women’s Month, it’s worth looking into and understanding an important segment of our society today – the Filipina youth. More and more female members of the Generation Ys and Zs are making themselves heard, felt, recognized and respected.
According to the 2022 report from the Philippine Statistics Authority, 44% of the 67.4M members of the country’s workforce were from these 2 generations. The share is expected to increase as more boomers and Gen X retire in the coming years. Notably, the percentage of young women joining the workforce is steadily increasing as well.
From being mere bystanders, bench warmers or observers in the past, they are now taking active roles and bringing more to the table. Their unrelenting passion and dedication to redefine norms set them apart from their predecessors.
Today’s female youths are no longer content with status quo. They don’t accept everything at face value. They just don’t wait to be told what to do or what to say. They ask questions, challenge ideas and speak their minds. They participate in brainstorming, problem solving and decision making. Their awareness and involvement is so diverse that they are at the leadership helm and at the forefront of various issues from travels and fashion to financial literacy and mental health awareness to gender equality and climate change. They are making sure that their voices are heard and that they are making an impact and creating a difference across the different sectors.
Born into the era of digital natives, these young women are not only tech literate… they are tech-savvy. While they continue to have strong interpersonal skills, they have learned to integrate technology into their lives and leverage on this for their development and advancement. Their access to and proficiency with technology has significantly changed and influenced their perspectives on life, work, and the world, as a whole. It opened a wide range of opportunities and possibilities that young women can only dream of before. Today, in one click, they have access to what the “outside world” can offer. It enabled them to be more informed and offered them more choices. For them, social media, is not just a platform to flex selfies or social catch ups but a viable tool for networking, entrepreneurship and even for self-improvement. Coupled with their innate ability to empathize and connect with others, being into technology gives them a unique advantage to influence and mobilize people, create awareness, and bring about change.
From being homemakers to having a stable job and now, to having passion projects and meaningful careers, there’s been a significant shift in what these female youngsters look and aspire for. As they continue to strive for work-life balance (or integration, as others put it), these generations seek meaning/purpose, growth, and the chance to make a difference through what they do. They are risk takers and want to experiment new ways of doing things. They do not expect special treatment but they demand fairness and equality in the workplace. With their strong entrepreneurial spirit and leadership attributes, many young women are leading start-up companies, assuming more senior leadership roles, and taking on male-dominated jobs. They are showing the world that with the right opportunity, women can have a career that is not just about making money but about making a difference. They want to know that they are contributing to make our country and our world a better place to live in.
But while these young women are bringing on the table extra dose of innovation, creativity, freshness and change, they still face some challenges along the way. Issues like cyber bullying and online harassment, financial uncertainties, overwhelming pressure and expectation and unfair representation are still being experienced by some female Gen Ys and Zs.
As our country’s future is practically in the hands of these young generations, recognizing and providing solutions to such challenges is the responsibility not only by their generations but by the older generations (Boomers and Gen X), as well. The older generations should take a more active steps in providing young women with an environment that will allow them to thrive and reach their full potential.
We need to provide them with more learning opportunities. They should be given access to education and training to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to be productive and empowered. Also, instead of suppressing or dismissing their ideas and suggestions, we should encourage and give them the platform to speak up. They may not have the experience and wisdom yet but we can learn from their fresh perspectives and insights We need to show them that they are valued and appreciated by recognizing and celebrating their efforts and successes. This will not only boost their confidence to continue but to aim for more. Finally, they need to feel safe and protected. We need to provide them safe space where they can freely express their ideas and emotions without the fear of being judged, attacked or harassed.
While we are seeing more empowered young women in our society today, there’s still so much room for improvement. It will take the collaborative effort across the different generations. The younger generations may have the energy and offer new and fresher ideas but they need role models and inspiration from the older generations. Let’s work together to help the young Filipinas be a better version of who we were… more empowered, confident and independent. (Jay Ledesma)