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Because of the scale of performative wokeness and generalizations we’ve assigned to Gen Z, we want to believe this is finally the moment for diversity and inclusion to rise up. This is a confusing topic for many, because there’s a lot of emotional intensity and labor going into diversity discussions at the personal level, but corporations seem to do exactly nothing but what they’ve always done. Why? Short answer: a company’s job is to make money, not necessarily endorse social justice initiatives. When we assign too many conditions to a company and its leadership, it becomes overwhelming and they just go back to focusing on the stuff they care about, which is often, well, money and growth.
But there’s a potentially bigger problem than human psychology right now: we already knew that the COVID recession was a “she-cession,” but there’s troubling additional data out of this Wharton article. About 2.3 million women have exited the U.S. labor force since the pandemic began, compared with about 1.8 million men, according to government data. As a result, female participation in the workforce has dropped to 57%, a level not seen since 1988.
Then later in the article, there’s this gem:
Bellace said she’s pleased with the cultural changes that she has seen over the years. Younger men no longer assume that every female co-worker is a…
