Ellen Pao: Generation Aspect
Ellen Pao’s gender-discrimination suit against Kleiner Perkins is an example of the way the modern generation attempts to deal with the unfairness of inequality. It appears to be the result of modern tendencies in our society.
Indeed, according to Danowitz, Hanappi-egger, and Mensi-klarbach (2012), the new century “is characterized by ever-increasing diversity in terms of ethnic background, lifestyle, intergenerational and, of course, the participation of women” (p.1). This means that the need for proper diversity strategies and initiatives has increased and that the reaction of society towards the cases of discrimination has become more profound. The discrimination is the result of the stereotypes that used to exist for centuries and that modern generation people strive to completely annihilate, the case of Ellen Pao being an example of their determination.
One has to take into account, however, that although the lawsuit of Ellen Pao was an attempt at fighting gender-based discrimination, there is a chance that her actions will have unwanted results. The court dismissed her claims arguing that her performance at the workplace appeared to be inferior (Blumberg & Maclean, 2015). This fact raises suspicion: could it be that the notion of diversity was used for Pao’s self-profit? Such a point of view can only serve to discredit the notion which cannot be regarded as a positive outcome.
Despite this, however, the lawsuit appears to have scandalized people all over the world which means that public attention has been drawn to the problems of discrimination and diversity once more. This is probably why Pao believes that her actions could improve the situation for women all over the world (Blumberg & Maclean, 2015). As the case of Pao demonstrates, the people of the new generation are ready to maintain their rights and defend their interests. Such changes in public mood bring the hope that sooner or later the problem of diversity will be solved.
Generation and Diversity
The diversity problem also includes the issue of different generations and their representation at workplaces. It is obvious that the most prominent groups that can be singled out in this respect are the older and the younger generation. The lack of experience often becomes a major problem for youngsters in their job search, while the older generation is often believed to be inert and irresponsive to the change which may lead to dismissals (Danowitz et al., 2012). Besides, as far as the youth and elder people tend to be interested in different topics, they choose different fields of expertise. This means that while modern, “cool” technologies attract younger people, the elder workers prefer to choose more “important”, fundamental branches (Lu, 2015). All of these factors make it more difficult to maintain the generational diversity of a company.
Still, it appears to be obvious that any business can benefit from employing members of both groups. Both older and younger generations possess the most valuable qualities. For example, while the younger generation is flexible in thinking and learns fast, the elder generation has the advantage of experience. Apart from that, the younger generation seems to be particularly sensitive to the changes in the market, while the older generation is usually more concerned with certainly less “cool” but more fundamental issues (Lu, 2015). Therefore, it is in every company’s best interest to maintain generation diversity by attracting both younger and older workers since the two groups appear to be able to offset the disadvantages of each other and use their contrasting characteristics for the benefit of a business.
References
Blumberg, P., & Maclean, P. (2015). Ellen Pao Loses Kleiner Perkins Gender-Discrimination Suit. Bloomberg Business. Web.
Danowitz, M., Hanappi-egger, E., & Mensi-klarbach, H. (2012). Diversity in organizations. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Lu, Y. (2014). Silicon Valley’s Youth Problem. The New York Times Magazine. Web.