Jessica Ennis-Hill is top inspiration for UK under-25s
- Olympic champion heptathlete scored above leaders from politics, business, arts and entertainment
- Inspiration Index dominated by Generation X reveals millennial generation’s respect for elders
- Over a third of most inspirational figures are female
- Hard work and integrity top admired leadership attributes for young people
Jessica Ennis-Hill has been voted the most inspirational figure by under-25 year olds in the UK, leading a list otherwise dominated by the over-40s.
The Inspiration Index is published to coincide with the launch of Starbucks Youth Action which supports young people to carry out a project benefitting their community. The research crowd-sourced nominations for inspirational figures from more than 1,000 16-24 year olds, rating them for inspirational qualities and leadership characteristics, such as: integrity, effort, judgement and having a positive impact on society.
It features over 100 public figures from politics, business, sport, the arts and media. Showing respect for their elders, 89% of under-25-year-olds surveyed admire the achievements of the over-40s over those of their own age group.
Among the top 25 role models, more than a third (37%) are women. Ellen DeGeneres, Dame Judi Dench, JK Rowling and Rebecca Adlington all rank highly, with respondents acknowledging their hard work, dedication and genuine approach.
Rebecca Adlington, the only under-25 year old nominated in the survey (ranked 24th out of 100), commented on the findings:
“It’s exciting to see so many successful women viewed as inspirational to the youth of today. It’s also interesting that our younger generation chose these women as role models, above more popular names – it shows how highly they value hard work and genuine personalities. These are all high achieving women who have shown commitment to working hard to reach their goals, whilst continually learning and developing their trade to build and maintain a career.”
The poll shows the characteristics most revered in a leader are hard work and being results-driven e.g. Richard Branson (91%); being genuine, e.g. Mo Farah (92%) and acting with integrity, e.g. Nelson Mandela (88%).
Charlotte Hill, chief executive of UK Youth, partners in Starbucks Youth Action said:
“The success of Starbucks Youth Action projects demonstrates that young people can make a vital contribution to society and gain valuable leadership skills. They learn how to pitch their ideas, manage a project and handle a budget while they turn their ideas into reality. We’re incredibly proud of the young people and projects we’ve supported so far, and looking forward to seeing this year’s applicants achieve their aim. ”
To find out more and to apply for Starbucks Youth Action 2014 please visit http://www.starbucks.co.uk/
Applications close on 17 March 2014.
The research, which required respondents to nominate people they found inspirational before rating them according to key characteristics, revealed the top 25 to be:
1. Jessica Ennis-Hill
2. Nelson Mandela
3. Martin Luther King
4. Gandhi
5. Steven Hawking
6. Ellen DeGeneres
7. Stephen Fry
8. Will Smith
9. Mo Farah
10. Sir Richard Branson
11. JK Rowling
12. Marie Curie
13. David Attenborough
14. Bill Gates
15. Eddie Izzard
16. Claire Balding
17. Oprah Winfrey
18. Professor Brian Cox
19. David Beckham
20. Steven Spielberg
21. Jamie Oliver
22. Steve Jobs
23. Sir Winston Churchill
24. Rebecca Adlington
25. Dame Judi Dench