A GUIDE TO LIFE IN YOUR 20S, 30S, 40S, 50S AND BEYOND

From the musings of teens to the wisdom of sixty-something icons, we present 15 remarkable tales of womanhood.

It was inevitable. Just when we’re still trying to get our heads around gen Z, along comes a new “generation” to further confuse the situation. Of course it makes sense that after running out of the alphabet we’d have to start at the beginning. Generation Alpha is Australian social researcher Mark Mccrindle’s preferred moniker for the next, next generation (currently comprised of babies, toddlers and school-starters), the beginning of which he dates from the launch of the ipad and Instagram in 2010. It’s predicted to be the most formally educated, tech-savvy and, globally, wealthiest generation ever. Plus, many of them will get to party well into the next century.

My sister is due to give birth to a Gen Alpha-er in three weeks. This past weekend at her baby shower, there was the expected gaggle of gender soothsaying: was she carrying high or low; all out front or to the sides; salty or sweet cravings? The conversation stopped just shy of someone whipping off their wedding ring and dangling it over the bump. But she’s not fussed either way; she already has one of each. My about-to-turn-six-year-old nephew is less diplomatic – in his mind, he’s absolutely getting a little brother. But what if it’s a girl? Will she share in the benefits of unprecedented education, the technological advancements, the wealth? What kind of world can the newest member of our family expect to grow up in? And what will life hold for all the little Charlottes, Olivias, Avas and Mias in her class?

If we were to use popular culture’s timeline as a guide, in just three years, special police operatives could be subjecting her parents to the Voight-Kampff test to determine whether they’re bioengineered beings and “retiring” them accordingly (Blade Runner), at 19, highly intelligent robots will be filling public service positions and threatening to enslave the human race (I, Robot), by 40, she’ll be well on her way to the colonisation of a distant planet since earth will be uninhabitable due to the irreversible effects of pollution (Lost In

Space), and before she hits 50 she’ll be living in a utopian society where people inhabit housing in the sky and drive aerocars (The Jetsons).

But short of any of these Hollywood sci-fi fantasies (none of which seems wholly unrealistic) coming true, there are some realities she will face. Within little more than a decade, once the Queen eventually, inevitably concedes her throne, my niece may find herself living in a republic (opening the way to a new career opportunity to aim for: head of state). Although the numbers suggest the likelihood of her being diagnosed with cancer will rise, advances in medical research mean she’s less likely to lose her life to the disease than her mother or grandmother. Days spent in the sun seem numbered thanks to worst-case scenario projections of up to 5.1ɠc of warming by 2090 if the world doesn’t curb its greenhouse emissions. But her life will be lived online anyway where she’ll be more influenced by the visual and video than the written and verbal (considering the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year in 2015 was the “Face With Tears of Joy” emoji, this should come as no surprise).

The vote, the pill, the mini-skirt: the past century has seen huge progress for women in Australia, but what do the coming decades hold for tomorrow’s generation? ELLE takes a snapshot of what life will be like for this year’s class of baby girls BY GENEVRA LEEK

If current trends continue, by the time university is on the table she’ll be more likely to enrol than ever before, and considerably more likely than her male counterparts. The crucial change is how that will translate into more opportunities to take up highly skilled roles and leadership positions. If the momentum behind significant initiatives targeting increased participation of women in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine continues, one thing she shouldn’t encounter is the severe under-representation of women in these “STEMM” fields.

“Transformational change in the higher education and research sectors will see increased participation of women in senior academic and business leadership roles,” says Dr Wafa El-adhami, executive director of Science in Australia Gender Equity, a national initiative promoting gender equity and gender diversity and encouraging the advancement of the careers and education of women. “More women vice chancellors and heads of departments; more women participating in STEMM industry sectors – CEOS of start-ups and STEMM companies.” Which means that while I may not make Fortune’s Unicorn List in my lifetime, my yet-to-be-born niece is just as likely as anyone to build a billion-dollar start-up, or at least have the best chance at pursuing one of the many emerging jobs that most likely don’t even exist yet.

And when she nabs one of those roles, the hope is she’ll be a significant way towards earning the same as her male colleague. Last year, the World Economic Forum said it will take another 118 years until the global pay gap between men and women is finally closed. In generational terms, that means my future grand-niece will be the one smashing through the glass ceiling and claiming equal pay. But while Australia only ranked 36th out of 145 economies included on 2015’s Global Gender Gap Index (a slide of 12 places from the previous year), Libby Lyons, director of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, says it’s not all bad news. “What we’re seeing is the smart organisations in Australia and the leaders in this space develop their own targets, so they’re saying they want 40 per cent of women on a particular management level by a particular year. We’re seeing them set the targets, link them to KPIS and bonuses, and we’re actually seeing organisations get very close to, if not achieving, those goals. If you look at some of the bigger organisations, they’re being quite open about their targets, which is great because it’s showing they’re being accountable.”

Lyons also notes we’re seeing more organisations embrace flexible work, establish generous parental schemes and even provide bonus payments when mothers return to work so they can pay for childcare. And while she admits the enlightened businesses are not in the majority at this stage, there could be considerable change ahead. “I am, by nature, an optimistic person, and with hard work, with smart CEOS, with smart women coming up and addressing these issues, with boards stepping up and recognising that diverse workplaces provide for smarter business, the future looks bright. I think we’ll see great gains, probably better gains than we’ve seen for some time, over the next 10 years.”

For now, superannuation is the more insidious hidden cost. Roy Morgan tallies the 2015 median superannuation value held by Australian men to be $62,900, compared to a woman’s superannuation balance of $35,200. Women retire, on average, with just over half the amount of superannuation as men. Taking time out from the paid workforce or reducing work hours contributes to the disparity, and worryingly, many Australian women face poverty in retirement. With the employer-funded Super Guarantee rate to remain at 9.5 per cent until June 2021, and incrementally increasing to just 12 per cent by 2025, the challenges remain for a baby girl whose life expectancy will be edging towards a full century.

So where do our sons fit into this? It’s them who will not only increasingly take practical action to help improve the representation of women in leadership but also play a defining role in changing attitudes towards violence against the women our girls grow into. White Ribbon’s CEO Libby Davies says, realistically, it will take time to break intergenerational violence. The organisation works with male influencers to drive societal change, and its Breaking The Silence schools program is seeing young boys increasingly disclosing the violence they’re experiencing at home and enabling them to develop a better understanding of how they should be treating girls. “There are positive signs,” she says. “The latest statistics indicate a decrease in violence against women, but [it’s] still too high. Hopefully bringing it out from behind closed doors is beginning to have an impact.” Her hope for girls born in 2016? “[To be in] a position where our patriarchal society has been deconstructed, where women from all walks of life have equal access to all opportunities and the right to choose their life.”

Professor Catherine Driscoll of the Department of Gender and Cultural Studies at The University of Sydney says one thing is for certain: in a world where popular attitudes to understanding gender and sexuality continue to alter, it’s inevitable that a girl’s experience in the future will be pressed into new shapes by challenges to what “girl” means. “There are some radically new shifts on the horizon introduced by marriage equality and ‘trans acceptance’ and the recognition of homosexual and lesbian relationships. The broad acceptance that these girls need not be hidden or ‘changed’ must impact on girls’ ideas about love, romance and sexuality, which are of course as important as schooling to our experience of girlhood.” Thanks to new initiatives aimed at creating safe school environments, trans and gender-diverse kids will become more visible than ever, challenging existing norms. “Consider school uniforms, toilets, sports and all the other everyday ways schooling is organised around gender.”

It’s intriguing to think what impact a reframing of gender, and of the gender debate, could have. While absolute gender equality right now might seem like a utopian vision akin to The Jetsons, the one thing that’s clear is that the clever, switched-on class of girls born in 2016 has some surprises in store.