Graduation and post graduation plans are on the minds of many juniors and seniors. As juniors start to prepare themselves for entering the workforce, seniors are bracing themselves to be a part of the workforce in the next year or so. And although the future seems to be at the forefront of our minds everyday, very rarely do we think about the future of our industries and labor force.
On the second day of the conference, Tina McCorkindale, President and CEO of the Institute of Public Relations led a session about the role of women’s leadership in public relations and the future of the labor force. In a world where women earn only $0.79 cents of every dollar a man makes, I thought about my own future in the workforce as a black woman.
Based off the 2019 IPR Future of Work Report, McCorkindale outlined how the landscape of our workforce would change. She noted that the pace of change is more significant than the change itself that’s taking place. She also touched on how the generational divide in the workforce offers opportunities and challenges. When she talked about the generational divide that would occur because of the rise of Millenials and Gen Z members entering the workforce, I reflected on how in my Intro to PR class we defined characteristics that shape each generation. For example, as the youngest generation in the workforce, Millennials prioritize a work life balance and value career mobility more than job security unlike older generations. Understanding some of the defining characteristics that make up each generation made me realize why this generational divide would cause some challenges, but more importantly how opportunities are also presented.
What resonated most with me during this session was the fact that McCorkindale also mentioned how more companies and organizations are creating more Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (D.E.I) initiatives to create a better environment. These initiatives are becoming standard in the workplace, I’m happy that this change has occurred on a mass scale.
McCorkindale also made note of how internal communication resources are lagging behind. Though, many companies and organizations have mastered external communications. The problem of figuring out how best to communicate with employees still remains.
At the end of her session, McCorkindale stated that the future of the workforce is creation. I’d like to think my time here at Emerson so far has definitely pushed me to think outside the box. If the future of the workforce is creation, then I think Emerson students are more than prepared for the future workforce.