This blog was written by Faith Starchia, intern at Pion. Faith is a second year student at American University, studying journalism with a minor in literature. Originally from Wilmington, Delaware, Faith enjoys reading, writing and going to movies.
Gen Z is a generation that is unafraid to state their opinions, tell the public what the latest trending topic is, and even which political opponent has the best social media accounts
A generation with the confidence to spread awareness on the rights and wrongs of society is the ideal group to look to when it comes to International Women’s Day.
Celebrated annually on March 8, International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global wide commemoration of the achievements of women while acknowledging the hardships it has taken to accomplish them.
This yearly celebration not only continues to raise awareness on gender inequality but also contributes to multiple female-based research organizations.
#AccelerateAction #IWD2025
International Women’s Day has a rich history of collective action that not only targets the women it supports, but a wider global audience it seeks to educate
This year’s theme, #AccelerateAction, is a call to action to make steps forward in reaching gender equality in regards to disparities in pay, leadership opportunities and more.
According to the World Economic Forum, continuing at our current rate of progress it will take until 2158 to reach full gender parity
This theme is of consequence to Gen Z specifically, as its oldest members have been in the world of work for a few years now, having the ability to recognize and address the biases and systemic barriers faced by women in the workplace.
The currently employed members of Gen Z – and those inquiring into their prospective professional spheres – recognize the way to go in order to achieve equality in the workplace and shape a new future.
Young consumers require cooperation from the companies that claim to uplift and celebrate women with legitimate actions that back up these words. Spreading awareness on gender disparity in the workplace is a great way to start a conversation, but it is the same conversation that began the initial founding of International Women’s Day centuries ago.
It’s about time that the discussion warrants concrete action.
Calling out tokenism in the workplace
Gen Z moves steadfast in their activism.
They’re capable of understanding that it is not enough to call themselves feminists, but to also note the complexities that have made reaching full gender parity such an enduring process.
The modern conventional ways of thinking that many companies use within their employment and compensation practices disregards how impactful intersectionality is in the workplace.
According to #AccelerateAction, companies need to vouch for their false claims of gender equality in the office, specifically by closing the gender pay gap.
Our research revealed that Gen Z participants would pay more for products from brands that are ethically responsible – 21% said they are willing to pay significantly more for products from environmentally or ethically responsible brands. A massive 53% of respondents would pay slightly more for these products.
Over the past few years, we have seen more brands promoting the necessity of female representation amongst their corporations.
… But how many of these women are getting paid less than or equal to their male counterparts?
On International Women’s Day 2022, an anonymous bot by the name ‘Gender Pay Gap Bot’ arrived to X, calling out posts from organizations seemingly celebrating female empowerment, while using public data to expose their gender pay gaps.
Along with the fact that their declarations of supporting women in the workplace were blatantly untrue, the social posts misaligned with their true values as a company.
Gen Z is more than likely to be uninterested in brands that do not reflect their personal morals and beliefs or present a skewed sense of ethics across different platforms, especially in the workplace.
For example, in a post the Royal College of Surgeons of England made quoting a professor’s International Women’s Day address, the bot responded to the tweet, exposing the university for its average hourly salary for women being 17.2% lower than men.
Although there is much to be said in the strides society has taken towards speaking out against the oppression and inequalities faced by women in the workforce, there is still a huge puzzle piece missing in the fight towards gender equity. A coalition between corporations and the customers they seek to cater to is required to complete this puzzle.
Feminism the right way
Along with the Gender Pay Gap Bot, there have been brands and social media influencers who recognize the weight of their words, and use them to create change.
Alexandra Cooper, host of the Call Her Daddy podcast and founder of the Unwell network, in recent months has generated content based on the sole purpose of uplifting her main demographic: women.
A month before the U.S. presidential election, Cooper hosted former Vice President Kamala Harris on her podcast to discuss reproductive rights, women’s healthcare and plans for economic relief. Despite Cooper’s statement that her having the presidential candidate on her podcast was not meant to “change your political affiliation," the episode created a mass load of backlash across social media for the podcaster.
“Call Her Daddy” became popular with young women due to Cooper’s openness on topics like sex, dating and relationships. The podcaster opened the episode with a disclaimer, but stated in multiple interviews that she believed having Harris on the podcast to talk about women’s reproductive rights, among other things, was important for her target audience.
Key takeaways
- Gen Z is an essential element to #AccelerateAction, as they are unafraid to call out brands and spread awareness to uplift women.
- Corporations have an obligation to back up their claims of gender equality with substantive action in order to reach full gender parity in the workplace.
- An easy way to promote gender parity authentically is by using company platforms with power to generate conversation and create change.
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