Excerpts from: SELLING TO GEN Y: A FAR CRY FROM BETTY CROCKER

Though still a work in progress, Gen Y cuts a very different racial profile from previous generations. According to Census 2000, children under the age of 18 are less likely than adults to be white, and are twice as likely to identify themselves as being of more than one race. . . a
. . . "racial generation gap," where whites are a considerable majority among the elderly and the working age population and its children become more diverse.

The young tend to view racial change as a given, said Neil Howe, 49, co-author of "Millennials Rising: The Next Generation." "They are aware of growing up in a society with widening diversity and fragmentation. "But where they want to go is toward something which is much more melting potlike. "It's cool and hip to be ethnic. "More and more, the white kids in middle America think that way, which is significant."

For one thing, members of Gen Y date more freely across racial lines than in past generations, according to William Strauss, 54, co-author of "Millennials Rising," and a 1997 USA Today/Gallup poll bears that out. "There's a segregation that still exists in a lot of ways, but not among young people."

The hybrid of Gen Y runs much deeper than appeal of pop stars. Mr. Simmons, 43, whose joint ad agency, dRush, has worked for mainstream clients like HBO and Coca-Cola is no stranger to the way hybrid culture has captured the attention of advertisers." "It's the best brand-building culture in America today," he said.

Still, teenagers are mercurial in their tastes, and it's difficult - if not possible - to predict their long-term reactions to market-tested multiculturalism.

 

Source: The New York Times, Sunday, April 8, 2001
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These consumer-oriented views on the next generation to enter the workplace indicate how significant increased diversity in the workforce, respect and appreciation of differences, and openness to change will be to business success.

- Phyllis Weiss Haserot