Future-Ready Youth Business Leaders: Gender-Based Competencies for the X.0 Wave Generation

Abstract

The accelerating convergence of digital transformation, sustainability, and technological innovation requires a new generation of youth business leaders equipped with ethical, culturally aware, paradigm-shifting, and gender-sensitive competencies. This study applies the X.0 wave theory as a comprehensive framework to understand societal, technological, and economic evolution and how successive business and societal revolutions reshape leadership requirements (Mattiello, 2024; Doost Mohammadian, 2022; Mattiello, Wittberg and Castro, 2022, November). It examines gender-based competencies essential for developing future-ready leaders capable of navigating digital, green, and human-centered economic transitions (Schwab, 2016; Schwab and Davis, 2018; OECD, 2025; Durani, 2025; Mansour et al., 2024). The framework identifies key competencies, including digital fluency, gender competence, entrepreneurial and strategic skills, and sustainable ethical leadership, using cross-cultural surveys, case studies, and simulation-based assessments (Mattiello, Mattiello and Wittberg, 2025, April; Mattiello and Mattiello, 2025b; Brooks, Tse, Wright and Burdett, 2024; Mattiello, Wittberg, Castro and Langari, 2022, March). These competencies, combined with ethical governance and inclusive leadership, enable youth to respond effectively to Industry 5.0 and emerging Society 6.0 challenges (Mattiello and Domann, 2024; Henderikx and Stoffers, 2023; Held, Heubeck and Meckl, 2025; Mladenova, Vladimirov and Harizanova, 2025). Findings show that integrating ethics, digital skills, and gender-sensitive practices enhances leadership effectiveness, resilience, and inclusivity, offering actionable guidance to cultivate future-ready leaders who drive sustainable and advanced business ecosystems (Mattiello, Alijani, Rahimi Moghaddam and Ameri, 2024; Doost Mohammadian and Rezaie, 2020; Rüdiger, Köchli, Hunter and Mvunelo, 2025; UN Youth Office, 2025; Avice Huet, 2023).