The Generational View

Welcome, welcome back listeners! I’m thankful to have you dedicated listeners for the next journey through our Gen Z series here on The Generational View. We still have so much to unpack.

Today, we meet three exceptional White Gen Zers. There might be a bit of discomfort within some of us when we say “White gen Zers.” And the reason for that is because many of us historically have not seen “White” as a racial identity, particularly those who are White. But it, in fact, is. Being White impacts how one experiences America just as much as being Black or Asian or Latin X or Indigenous does.

Our guests

Alena Bennett Turner is a logistics Quality Engineer at a large technology company, working on continuous improvement and logistics emission reduction efforts with a Bachelor of Business Administration - Logistics, Materials and Supply Chain Management. Andrew Roth the founder and CEO of GenZ Designs, a research and consultancy company focused on Gen Z. He holds a Bachelors of Science in Human Organizational Development with a concentration in Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness. 

What you will hear in this episode:

• What they feel are Gen Z’s miscommunication issues regarding racial equality
• Why their generation feels it’s important to support small businesses
• What’s important to them when starting careers
• How expectations of “follow through” echo in their political and occupational standards

When we dove into the idea of unpacking societal stressors on the youngest generation entering the workforce here on The Generational View podcast, our intent was to promote intergenerational understanding and create an overall more efficient workplace environment with that newly found connection. What we actually found is that this powerful generation has a lot to say, when given a safe platform to speak on. So we will continue our journey on the What Gen Z Wants series of The Generational View podcast to hear just what they have to say…

If you missed the last conversations with LatinX and API GenZs, head to The Generational View podcast website at www.thegenerationalview.com to catch up on this and other previous episodes. Don’t forget to leave a review if you love it!

Our Guests

Greear Webb is currently a junior Morehead-Cain Scholar at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and he was also selected as a 2020 Youth Voter Ambassador through Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. Amil Greene is a legal intern at a law firm and passionate about improving family law within communities with a Bachelor’s in Political Science and Sociology/Anthropology. Britny Clayton-Mitchell is a Finance Analyst at a large global company with a Bachelor’s of Finance from Prairie View A & M University.

What you’ll hear in this episode

• The biggest challenges faced by their generation (00:45)
• The degree of responsibility that companies have to solve problems like system racism (7:22)
• What are some of the things they look for in organizations they are thinking about joining (14:22)
• The personal importance of organization’s commitment to diversity (31:30)
• The one societal issue that they want to see fixed now (42:30)

We’re only a few episodes into season 2 of The Generational View podcast, but have already had some wonderful conversations with our Gen Z guests here on The Generational View. If you’ve missed any episodes in season 2 or want to catch up from season 1, feel free to head over to the website at www.thegenerationalview.com for all of our previous episodes.

We’ve spoken to quite a few individuals within the Gen Z age group about how they perceive society and their experiences with it.  Despite the similarities in experiences some share, these powerful voices all bring a different message to the conversation. It’s important to provide a safe space for these voices to be heard and shared. So we want to continue that opportunity throughout Season 2 of The Generational View. In this particular episode, we will hear from three Gen Zers in the Asian and Pacific Islander Community.

Our guests today

Dhivya Umachandran is currently working as a Manufacturing Rotational in a company serving customers in the food, beverage, and industrial markets. She has a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and is Six Sigma Belt certified. Usha Adhikari is an Operations Intern at a large university and is currently a Junior, working on Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Global Health and a Certificate in Integrated Marketing Communications. Kiana Truong is a future UNC Charlotte Undergraduate in Computer Science and a Road to Hire Intern at a large technology company.

What you will hear in this episode:

• The biggest societal problem that Gen Z faces today. 
• How a lack of empathy shows up in their everyday interactions with their peers
• Does the institution play a role in facilitating and providing a safe space for learning
• What they look for in a potential employer, and the importance of a company’s commitment to diversity.
• The types of behaviors they appreciate in leadership

Welcome, welcome, welcome everyone! We’ve finally made it to season 2! If you’re hearing this right now after journeying with us through Season 1, I’m so thankful and thrilled to bring you along for this next ride. If your ears are hearing the podcast for the first time, then an extra welcome goes to you. You’re in for a very special treat!

As we start a new season, we’re wrapping up the year of 2021. That means there’s less than four years remaining until the passionate and motivated GenZers will make up a full quarter of the global workforce. If we provide them with a platform to sound off about issues of importance to them, and allow a safe space to do so, we can help the leaders of today better connect with the leaders of tomorrow. 

Our guests today

Mayavellie Bochas is a Youth Behavioral Counselor with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, and minors in political science and philosophy. Graciela Corral Hernandez is a Social impact professional with a Bachelor of Arts in International Business. Kenneth Jimenez is a Social studies teacher with a Bachelor’s of Arts in History, and a minor in Secondary Education.

What you will hear in this episode:

• The biggest problems that Gen Z face today. (1:14)
• If they feel companies any responsibility for societal issues (10:11)
• What contributions they would like to see companies make to solve societal issues like systemic racism (25:33)
• What characteristics and behaviors they appreciate the most in a leader and employer (46:56)
• What types of things build their trust in an organization (58:00)

Welcome to another episode of The Generational View podcast, and this is a special one. We’re celebrating National Latinx & Hispanic Heritage month that kicked off on September 15, and in order to honor these cultures, we wanted to hear from a few valuable voices in the Latinx & Hispanic community. 

Hispanic Heritage month was created to prompt people to learn about the culture and the individuals themselves, their stories, their voices, their experiences. While our guests today share a common heritage, they each have lived completely different lives, from different cultures, and with different stories.

Our guests today

Elizabeth Costa is a Director of Internal Communications and Diversity and Inclusion at a major technology services company with a Bachelor’s of Science with Honors in NonProfit Management. Renata Garcia Prieto Palacios Roji is a Learning and Development at a major food and beverage corporation and Adjunct faculty in Positive Psychology with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology, both a Master’s and PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Kenneth Jimenez is a Social studies teacher with a Bachelor’s of Arts in History, minor in Secondary Education.

What they’ll hear in this episode

• How one Gen Zer uses this month (and every month) to showcase his Hispanic roots, an opportunity he didn’t always have growing up 
• The influence that living in the U.S. has on how a native to the culture identifies herself. 
• The experiences of a 1st-generation Latinx-American, both the pride she carries and the tribulations that came with it. 

Season 2 is dropping September 23rd wherever you listen to podcasts! If you have not listened to Season 1, you still have time to catch up at www.thegenerationalview.com.

If you like what you hear, leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts!

Thank you so much for your support of The Generational View this season!  It’s hard to believe that we have reached the end of Season 1.  We’ve been fortunate to have some incredibly thought-provoking and timely conversations about race and racism, as the fight for racial equity was center stage in the United States in 2020-2021. We thank all our guests and avid supporters, and we look forward to many more seasons.

The season concludes with Raven’s analysis on our featured series of the season - the Working While Black Series (Episodes 4, 7 & 8, 10 & 11). The impetus for the series was the stark reality of yet another series of trauma inducing events in the news that made it very difficult for a lot of the Black folks we work with and engage with to work and even function at full capacity. We wanted to provide a window into this reality, as well as examining similarities and differences across generations.

What you will hear in this episode:

• What Black professionals are looking for from the companies/ institutions they work for AND their non-Black colleagues, friends, and peers regarding the fight for racial equity and Black lives. (3:50)
• The increase in optimism as you go down the generational spectrum (5:30)
• The various coping mechanism that Black professionals use for self care (8:20)
• The perception from younger Black professionals that Black Gen Xers and Black Baby Boomers are not vocal, bold or direct enough when it comes to leveraging their power to to fight for racial equity. (9:45)

Veteran DEI subject matter expert Doug Harris joins us for our next Expert Interview on The Generational View. This Greatest of All Time comes with a lot of knowledge and an equal or greater amount of personality!

It’s important to understand how DEI work has evolved over time so we can pave the road for the future, and there’s no better person to have this conversation with than Doug!

Our Guest

Doug is a proud Baby Boomer who is a father, a mentor, a DEI maverick and an all around phenomenal human being. He is the Chief Executive Officer of The Kaleidoscope Group and has assisted organizations with successfully managing culture change and creating inclusion for over 30 years.

What they’ll hear in this episode

• How Doug began his work in the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion space (1:03)
• How DEI work has evolved over the past 30 years from Doug’s perspective (3:49)
• What it looks like to hold leadership accountable in midst of cancel culture (12:43)
• How we create collaboration across generations and racial backgrounds inside of the DEI space (30:20)
• He also almost makes me cry (33:10)

Additional Resources

The Kaleidoscope Group D&I (Diversity and Inclusion) Training and Consulting Chicago (kgdiversity.com)

We conclude our Working While Black series on The Generational View this week with the second part of our conversation with Black Baby Boomers. Thank you for coming on this thought-provoking journey these past few weeks. In this episode, we talk about generations, and you’ll hear our guests’ perspective on how their generation and other generations show up in the fight for racial equity.

Our Guests

Dr. Angela Wheeler is an accomplished Family Medicine and Sports Medicine Physician and was one of 10 physicians selected to support the U.S. Olympic team in Sydney Australia. Ben Harrigan is Director in Market Risk Management for a large financial institution. He’s the father of two Gen Zers-- age 18 and age 15.

What you will hear in this episode:

• How being a generally non-vocal generation presents a unique challenge in how they fight racial inequity at work (43:03)
• Their response to claims from Millennials and Gen Zers that perhaps they are not bold enough in the fight for racial equity in the workplaces where they’ve now amassed a  degree of influence and power. (46:12)
• How they bridge the generational gaps in their own communities and workplaces (58:24)
• The characteristics of the generations that follow them that give them hope in the fight for racial equity (1:03:19)

Throughout our Working While Black series here on The Generational View, we have explored the generational similarities and differences among generations when it comes to their thoughts, feelings, and experiences working while Black amidst the traumatic events taking place in the news, specifically regarding Black lives and law enforcement. We conclude this series with thought-provoking conversation with two emotionally available Black Baby Boomers.

Our Guests

Dr. Angela Wheeler is an accomplished Family Medicine and Sports Medicine Physician and was one of 10 physicians selected to support the U.S. Olympic team in Sydney Australia. Ben Harrigan is Director in Market Risk Management for a large financial institution. He’s the father of two Gen Zers-- age 18 and age 15.

What you will hear in this episode:

• How racial stress affects their ability to show up as their whole selves at work (3:33)
• How COVID-19 has exacerbated some of that racial stress (12:06)
• What they expect from the companies/ institutions they work for regarding the fight for racial equity and Black lives (25:57)
• What they request of their non-Black colleagues, friends, and peers regarding the same (29:59)
• Advice they would give other Black Baby Boomers and professionals on coping with racial trauma (38:10)