Teen Girls on Business - Simmons College

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<strong>Teen</strong> <strong>Girls</strong> on Business: Are They Being Empowered?qualitative research did we define business for teens. In eachcase, questions were designed to probe teens’ own definitionsof business. We asked teens to tell us the first word thatcame to their minds when they heard the word business.Over one-third of all teen girls and boys gave a word associatedwith money, currency, or finance. Interestingly, whenasked to list the first three jobs that come to mind when theythink about careers in business, they mentioned a widerange. While the most frequently listed jobs (such asaccounting/finance, management, sales/marketing) wereexpected, the diversity of types of careers mentioned wasquite surprising. It is interesting to note that lawyer/judgewas listed third by both girls and boys, and 9% of teens alsolisted doctor/surgeon. Again, this shows that many teens seethe word business as an all-encompassing term for professionalpeople.Our focus groups with girls suggested that teens see businessin very stereotypical terms. Almost all girls chose to representbusiness and business people with images of technology(computers, cell phones, PDAs), office buildings (big cities,cubicles), clothing (dark business suits, briefcases), and businesstravel (planes, trains, and expensive cars). Again, thisreinforces the notion that teens see business in very superficialterms, often based on the images they see daily in themedia, or through observing the working lives of their parentsand friends.<strong>Teen</strong>s in our study were asked to rate the importance of differentskills for being successful in business. They were thenasked to list which of these skills was the most important. 17Financial skills are high on teens' lists. Both boys and girlsalso frequently list decision making and problem solving intheir top three, suggesting they understand the basic“work”of business. It is interesting to note however, thatwhile “being a leader” is cited often, especially for boys,other skills such as “being creative,” “being a good listener,”and “getting people to agree with you” were less frequentlylisted as most important. This suggests that the intangibleskills often associated with management and business leadershipare not understood by teens. Earlier research suggested“most [young people] know more about the lifestylesassociated with careers than about the work entailed.” 18 Asdiscussed later in more detail, business, possibly more thanAttitudes Towards Business in America% Strongly or Somewhat Agree<strong>Girls</strong>8070 72%6063%5050%40302010068%Provide jobs for peopleMake things people want or needRespected by othersBoys61%% Listing Job Type, Unprompted<strong>Girls</strong> BoysAccounting/Finance 37% 29%Business/Management 35% 33%Lawyer/Judge 24% 19%Sales 19% 16%CEO/CFO/VP, etc. 16% 17%Marketing 13% 12%Entrepreneur/Owner 13% 13%Computers/Software 8% 12%49%First 3 Jobs That Come to Mind When ThinkingAbout Business CareersMost Important Skills for Success in aBusiness Career% Selecting as One of Top 3<strong>Girls</strong>5040302010039% 37%35% 35%31%Making decisionsManaging moneyWorking with others33%45%Boys25%Solving problemsBeing a leader43%39%17See Appendix 3 for more details.18Nicholson HJ. Facts and Reflections on Careers for Today’s <strong>Girls</strong>. <strong>Girls</strong> Clubs ofAmerica. Indianapolis, IN; 1985.17
<strong>Teen</strong> <strong>Girls</strong> on Business: Are They Being Empowered?18Attitudes Towards Business in America% Strongly or Somewhat Agree50403020100<strong>Girls</strong>Boys72%68%44%37%33%29%32% 32%23%19%Do good things for communitiesPay employees fairlyCare about employeesHonest and ethicalCareer Interest (Prompted)% Extremely or Somewhat Interested60<strong>Girls</strong>Boys58%504042%44%3030%32%25%2020% 21%100Business or managementManagerOwn businessSales & marketing“It’s just kind of like whatever you can to getmoney. The guy has like his fingers crossed,so he probably did something badin order to get money.”-High School Girlany other profession, is extremely hard for teens to comprehendand experience in meaningful ways. Business as a“gateway” to many different functional areas and industriesis a difficult concept for teens to grasp.Contribution of business to society questionedDespite neutral-to-positive attitudes about business at anabstract level, perceptions are not all positive, especially forgirls. Relatively few teen girls and boys believe that businessgives back to the community or cares about employees, andonly one in five believe that business is honest and ethical.This may be especially important for girls, given the highpriority they place on helping others through their chosencareer paths. In focus groups, girls reinforced their skepticismtowards some of the motives that drive business. Formany girls, the strong association of business with financeand money was extended to greed and making money at anycost.Differences Between <strong>Girls</strong> and BoysWhile teens share a number of traits in their attitudes towardbusiness, there are significant areas of difference between girlsand boys.Business losing potential female leadersAs noted earlier, almost half the girls in our study indicatedthat their first career choice was some type of profession.While their strong career ambitions are heartening, this maybe a signal that business is losing potential future womenleaders. Only 9% of girls, compared to 15% of boys, spontaneouslygive business as their first career choice. This representsa difference of 40%. It is interesting to note thatwhen prompted, the level of interest in business increases,although girls continue to report significantly lower interestthan boys. When asked directly about different types ofbusiness careers, entrepreneurship ranks highest for bothgirls and boys out of all business-related choices, but girlsare still significantly less interested than boys. One explanationfor the difference between prompted and unpromptedinterest in business may be that the different types of business-relatedcareers, especially entrepreneurship, are not wellknown or understood. Most importantly, they are not top ofmind to many girls.These findings make it clear that girls need more exposure tothe many exciting opportunities in business and entrepreneurship.They also need to see positive female role models
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