GENERATION Z DOESN'T CARE ABOUT THE ECONOMY.

• Author: Griffin, Elle

THEY WANT TO SAVE THE WORLD.

The students entering college this year were born in 2004, the same year Facebook was founded. They were born with the internet, raised with information at their fingertips, and completed high school via Zoom. Now, they're entering college at record levels--57 percent of women enrolled and 44 percent of men--with science and technology topping their fields of study.

When today's freshmen graduate college only four years from now, we will have a tech-savvy, STEM-educated, predominately female workforce. Studies show this workforce will want to work for companies that are remote and equitable, take a stance on the climate, and do more than just business for business' sake. In fact, Gen Z cares more about making the world a better place than they do about the economy. When asked to name the most pressing issues facing their countries today, incoming freshmen named climate change and racism as the top two--none mentioned the economy.

It makes sense. The economy this generation grew up in faced a worldwide recession, several refugee crises, a global pandemic, the #metoo and Black Lives Matter movements, two highly vitriolic presidential campaigns, and the war in Ukraine. Gen Z and Millenials alike have suffered slower wage growth, lower homeownership rates, longer commutes, and less disposable income than the generations before them.

Unlike past generations, Gen Z gets its news directly from social media. Members of this generation are active participants in the political and social conversations that take place there and have more exposure to people outside their immediate communities than their parents ever did. Though not even one-third of baby boomers know someone who is transgender, more than half of Generation Z do. Though only 11 percent of boomers know someone who uses gender-neutral pronouns, 46 percent of Gen Z does.

It can be no surprise, then, that Generation Z has a different worldview than those that came before them. They are less likely to have national pride, are more welcoming of refugees, are more likely to vote, and more highly value inclusivity and mental health. Far more than previous generations, Gen Z wants the companies they buy from and work for to...