Younger Gen Y Working Women:A New Type of Professional

By:

Eden Avraham-KatzLaura Goldberg

Ross Garner

Who is the younger Generation Y working woman?

The Generation Y (or Gen Y) working woman is a multitasking, hardworking, fun-loving

individual. She is constantly on the search for right balance between work, friends, and family

that will make her happy. Gen Y working women, although being hard workers, place a strong

value on their personal lives and are will to sacrifice in the professional sector to create the

social life the desire. Sixty-three percent would much rather achieve a personal goal over the

29% would put professional goals first (Crimaldi, Nicole. “How Gen Y Women Redefine Success,

Excelle, 2010). Sixty-nine percent of Gen Y women would also sacrifice getting the top position

in order to be able to have a life outside of work (Crimaldi). Although she does look for

responsibility in her professional life, she is comfortable not being the top dog. The Gen Y

working woman is also completely reliant on her friends, be it her close friend group, her co-

workers, bloggers, and other online reviewers. As seen in graph 1, 59% cite their family and

friends as a source for information on new products, 38% citing online reviews, and 58% citing

the company’s website (Popsugar media, Sugar Inc.“Why Y Women – Study on Gen Y

Influences” Radar Media, October 2009, Pg. 8). She relies on them for all her product questions

and needs, and trusts their opinions and advice. The Gen Y women are also constantly

connected and extremely technologically aware. As seen in graph 2, 49% of Gen Y women

spend time, at least monthly, on social networking sites, 33% read blogs, 31% online shop, and

42% watch videos online (Popsugar, 7). She wants to stay ahead of the curve and seeks out

information about the world at large as well as in her inner circle.

The Gen Y women lives a fast pace lifestyle and is easily distracted. She is not easily

swayed by advertising and is annoyed by intrusive campaigns. She is looking to be talked to,

and not at by companies, and she wants to feel as if they are marketing to her for reasons other

than the company’s personal gain. She is looking for honesty and she wants to be made to feel

special and important. Most importantly, the Gen Y woman sees herself as an individual and a

trendsetter. As depicted in graph 3, 20% of Gen Y women admit to being influenced by what’s

trendy, 21% say they like to show off their style, and 14% admit to wanting to impress people

with their lifestyle (popsugar, 8). She is well aware that her appearance and lifestyle say more

about her than anything else but she also looks for it in other people. The Gen Y working

woman is also very much socially aware. She knows and supports many causes and is up-to-

date on current affairs, whether it’s a natural disaster or the most recent Hollywood break up.

In terms of marketing, it is important to remember that the Gen Y woman has grown up in a

consumerist society and places a strong value on communication. She has been told her entire

life that she can have it all, and she intends to have it all.

What are some of the trends pertaining to Gen Y working women?

Some of the larger trends that surrounding the Gen Y working woman is that she is

“career ADD” (Washington post). The average Gen Y working women changes her job 29 times

in her lifetime, with the average job being around 1.1 years (Crimaldi). This ties into the fact

that she is searching for the perfect balance and her happiness takes precedence over her

income. Another large trend is that 85% plan to stay in the workforce after having a baby,

correlating with the idea that these women are seeking for a balance between work and family

(Crimaldi). Gen Y women are also more technically inclined than the older generation. They

nearly double Gen X’s use of social networking sites, with 28% of Gen Y women regularly

usinging them where as only 15% of Gen X (Marketing Charts, “Gen-Y Women Respond to

Interactive, Non-Intrusive Campaigns”, 2009). Gen Y women have become avid blog readers,

with 28%, almost double generation x, claim to rely on blogs for product advice and

recommendations (Marketing Charts). Gen Y women are also very cause oriented, and are

attracted to products, such as toms, that support causes (O’Brien, Monica. “How to Market to

Gen Y” American Express Open Forum, April 21, 2010). They are also better educated and are

earning more bachelor’s degrees than men their age and are staying in school longer in hopes

of getting secondary degrees. However, the most important trend to note is that this

“generation is likely to keep spending at the same rates in the years to come, regardless of the

economy” (O’Brien). This is important to note because the Gen Y women want to maintain their

image and are willing to pay to do it. This has also led way into a new trend of Gen Y looking for

the same trends, but in cheaper versions, in stores such as forever 21, HM, or Zara (Popsugar,

16). The last trend is that the Gen Y women’s friend group has been redefined, and their

influencing forces have been expanded to include, as shown in image 1, “real-life friends,

Online user reviews, blog written by peers, blogs written by subject experts, company websites,

print articles, TV, Sales personnel, and advertising” (Popsugar, 5). Her friend group, in layman’s

terms, has gone viral, and she is almost twice as likely to trust online advice, as depicted in

graph 4 . This expansion is mainly due to the fact that the Gen Y women wants to feel as if she

is getting the best product for the best price. She wants interaction and communication. The

Gen Y woman is important because as much as she is influenced by outside factors, she does

her own brand advocating, and resorts to many methods in order to so as seen in Image 2.

Which industry should be paying attention to them?

Since Gen Y working women place such an emphasis on image and style the fashion

industry, specifically brick and mortar stores, need to pay close attention to this segment. This

segment has always been a dominant force in the fashion industry and currently spends 2/3 of

their income on clothes (Bakewell, Cathy and Vincent-Wayne Mitchell “Generation Y female

consumer decision-making styles” International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management,

Volume 31, Number 2, 2003, pg. 95). To them more is more; they want to be up to date on the

latest trends and might be willing to sacrifice in other areas in order to keep up their image and

lifestyle. With all the recent technological advances shopping has taken on a life of its own. If

she wants to buy a new pair of shoes at 3 am she can do that. Shopping to them is not about

the act of purchasing but it has taken on an element of entertainment (Bakewell,95). Instead of

only being able to shop with a few friends when she goes to a mall, she can post, blog or tweet

her potential new item and she is instantly shopping with all her friends who can comment on it

to help make her decision. Brick and mortar stores are going to need to keep a close eye on

how these women are shopping, if they want to be able to keep their doors open and combat

the digital age.

Graphs and Images

Graph 1

“Which of the following channels do you turn to most to learn more or research it?”

Graph 2

“Do you do the following activities at least monthly?”

Graph 3

Consumers who agreed with the following statements

Image 1

What influences Gen Y Women

Image 2

Social Advocacy

Work CitedBakewell, Cathy, and Vincent-Wayne Mitchell. "Generation Y Female Consumer Decision-making Styles." International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management 31.2 (2003): 95-106. Print.

Bay, Willow. "What a Generation Y Woman Really Wants?" Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. 23 Mar. 2007. Web. 10 Mar. 2011. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/willow-bay/what-a-generation-y-woman_b_44132.html>.

Cimalidi, Nicole. "How Gen Y Women Redefine Success - Excelle." Excelle : Networking for the Career-minded Woman. Monster. Web. 11 Mar. 2011. <http://excelle.monster.com/benefits/articles/4681-how-gen-y-women-redefine-success>.

Marketing Charts. "Gen-Y Women Respond to Interactive, Non-Intrusive Campaigns." MarketingCharts: Charts and Data for Marketers in Web and Excel Format. 21 Dec. 2009. Web. 11 Mar. 2011. <http://www.marketingcharts.com/interactive/gen-y-women-respond-to-interactive-non-intrusive-campaigns-11337/>.

O'Brien, Monica. "How to Market to Gen Y : The World :: American Express OPEN Forum." OPEN Forum :: American Express OPEN Forum. 21 Apr. 2010. Web. 10 Mar. 2011. <http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/the-world/article/how-to-market-to-gen-y-monica-obrien>.

Razvani, Selena. "On Leadership Panelists: What's next for Gen Y Women? - Selena Rezvani." Blog Directory - Views Redirect. The Washington Post, 17 Sept. 2010. Web. 10 Mar. 2011. <http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/panelists/2010/09/whats-next-for-gen-y-women.html>.

Sugar Inc. "PopSugar Media Releases New Marketing Study on Gen Y Womens Influence - Sugar Inc." Sugar Inc. Home. Oct. 2009. Web. 10 Mar. 2011. <http://www.sugarinc.com/PopSugar-Media-Releases-New-Marketing-Study-Gen-Y-Womens-Influence-5877055>.

Group Members’ Contributions

Ross – Conducted Research, created power point, edited and created movies for the power point presentation, minor edits to paper

Eden – Conducted Research, minor edits to the power point presentation, wrote first two sections to the paper

Laura – Minor edits to power point, wrote last section of the paper, edited and complied the paper