Millennial women more optimistic about their futures

In honour of this year’s International Women’s Day on March 8, Nielsen carried out research to explore how women’s attitudes and beliefs are evolving. 

It was found that, while the majority of women of all ages around the world said that they are paid less and are not treated equitably in society, millennial women are more positive compared with older generations: 20% of millennial women believe that they are paid fairly for what they do, compared with 10% of baby boomer women; 27% of millennial women believe that the position/ treatment of women has improved in their country over the last 10 years, compared with 16% of baby boomer women; 21% of millennial women believe that men and women are treated equally in society, compared with 10% of baby boomer women.

Millennial women are also far more positive about the state of their own finances than their older counterparts: 62% of millennial women believe that their personal finances will be good or excellent over the next year, compared with 39% of those aged 65+, 46% of baby boomers and 55% of generation X. Generation Z (those aged under 20 ) were slightly less positive, with 55% agreement. 

Traditional gender roles within the household also seem to be evolving: millennial women feel that there is more collaboration with their domestic partners than boomer women. Just under half ( 44%) of millennial women say they share childcare responsibilities with their partner, compared with 29% of baby boomer women, and 50% of millennial women say that caring for sick or ill family members is a shared responsibility, compared with just 38% of baby boomer women. 

'The women of tomorrow are indeed the ‘more generation',’ the report read. 'They are more hopeful about their personal prospects at work, achieving more equality at home, and more positive about how their communities and societies perceive women and their impact.

'Given the potential power of their contributions, women consumers are a force that can’t be ignored.'

Full findings can be accessed here.