Western nations are growing more diverse than ever. And the definition of diversity has expanded and evolved as well. It now includes many factors including age, cultural background, disability, gender, linguistic differences, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status.
Here are the most recent U.S. data I uncovered:
Age/Generation
Gen-Z has overtaken Millennials by nearly 4 million to become the largest generation in the United States. Baby Boomers are the third-largest generation with the population of 69 million persons in 2020.
Disability
The National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that in 2018, about 1 in 4, or 61 million, U.S. adults reports having some form of a disability.
Gender
The U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey in 2018 claimed that 49.2% of the population identified as male, while 50.8% identified as female.
Race
In the U.S., minorities are expected to outnumber whites by 2045.
On the right is the most recent U.S. population census from July 2019 that gives us Americans’ current racial origins.
Religion
According to Gallup, in 2019, this is the religious makeup of the U.S.
Protestant, 35%
Christian (nonspecific), 10%
Catholic, 22%
Jewish, 2%
Mormon, 1%
Other, 6%
None, 21%
Sexual Orientation
The Williams Institute at UCLA estimates that there are currently thirteen million people ages 13 and older in the U.S. who identify as LGBT. The following Gallup table shows the LGBT breakdown by generation:
According to Catalyst, buying power breakdowns are changing, too.
- Women’s annual consumer spending in the U.S. is $6.4 trillion. (2019)
- Estimated buying power of the LGBT population, $1.0 trillion (2018)
- Working age (16–64) people with disabilities have an estimated total disposable income of $490 billion.
- Buying power in the United States by race/ethnicity:
“Brands often rely on imagery to satisfy the need for diversity in campaigns. But the more you focus on making your organization more diverse, instead of making campaigns look diverse, the more authentic and impactful your content and campaigns will be.”
Deyra Jaye, Medium blog post
After reviewing this data, can you say that your nonprofit or business marketing communications is as diverse as the stats indicate?
Read Jaye’s post for seven ideas you can do to advance diversity within your marketing team.
