GCC Labor Market, Education and Generation Y Females: A Match or Mismatch? (original) (raw)

The aim of this paper is to analyze the convergence between the current state of education, labor markets’’ preparedness, and expectations of Generation Y females taking Bahrain as a case study. Generation Y is defined as the group of people aged 30 years and under. Although Generation Y is a worldwide phenomenon and members of this generational group share certain characteristics globally, in Gulf Cooperation Council countries [GCC] they display strong pressure to succeed, a need of gaining a high salary but also to acquire knowledge and expertise; and a preference for a strong work-life balance. In addition, in the workplace they seek peer orientation of the superiors rather than sheer respect for hierarchy; the latter is especially visible among the female population. The quickly modernized and globalized world created a generation with worldviews distinctive from the generation of their parents and this is especially visible in the GCC region that has been undergoing profound ch...