The IGNITE Minute: Gen Z and the American Dream

Dear friends,

Journalist Jessica Grose of The New York Times recently asked Gen Zers: How will you remake the American dream?

Two hundred responses later, Grose reports that “Gen Z still wants to climb the old ladder, finding a foothold in the job market while settling down and considering homeownership.”

However, they’re facing obstacles that heavily grease the rungs of said proverbial ladder, like costly starter homes and a weak job market with pithy salaries. (FYI: starter home buyers needed to earn over $100,000 to qualify for a mortgage in 2024 - about double what it took in 2020.)

That being said, Grose reports that young people are clear-eyed about the challenges ahead. 

We know this from our own firsthand experiences with Gen Z women. IGNITE community member Deja Foxx, 25, is currently running for Congress in Arizona. Foxx’s voice resonates with her peers because she faces the same roadblocks they do en route to the American dream, including the rising cost of living, restrictions on reproductive rights, and student debt. 

Many Gen Zers crave stability, especially after coming of age during Covid’s highest prevalence. Financial commentator and author Kyla Scanlon shared with Grouse, “Most Gen Zers I speak with aren’t trying to burn down the dream, they’re just trying to figure out if there’s still a door they can walk through. They still want security, love, purpose, but they’re more skeptical of the institutions that are supposed to provide them.”

The best way to give Gen Zers the opportunity to enjoy this stability is to reshape those institutions to fit the needs and realities of today’s young adults.

How do we do this? We bring Gen Z closer to power, into the rooms where decisions are made. I think about Kenya, a young DACA recipient I met at our D.C. convening just two summers ago. She recently reached out to me to share that prior to the convening, she felt nervous about where she fit into politics. By the end, however, she made a personal commitment to return to D.C. to work on the Hill. Today, she is doing just that as a congressional intern.

This is what happens when determined young women find IGNITE programming - they gain proximity to power. They step into the rooms where decisions are made and access the influence needed to drive meaningful change. From there, the American dream feels a lot less distant and a lot more achievable.