English: Diagram indicating Asian American settlement in the United States. Image as based on the census 2000 by the U.S. Census Bureau. Badagnani (talk) 08:39, 23 May 2009 (UTC) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Mari D. González

The demographic shift presents challenges and offers opportunities to companies and organizations that attempt to understand and serve diverse populations and their broad set of dynamics.

“Asians were the nation’s fastest-growing race or ethnic group in 2012. Their population rose by 530,000, or 2.9 percent, in the preceding year, to 18.9 million.” –U.S. Census Bureau

“Latinos now account for 17% of the U.S. population, up from 13% in 2000.” -PHC, 2011 Census

“One in six Americans is Hispanic. Ignoring Latino tastes is daft which is why American firms are at last getting serious about pursuing the Hispanic dollar.”  –The Economist, May 2013

“Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders (climbing 2.2 percent to about 1.4 million), American Indians and Alaska Natives (rising 1.5 percent to a little over 6.3 million), and blacks or African-Americans (increasing 1.3 percent to 44.5 million) followed Asians and Hispanics in percentage growth rates.”  –U.S. Census Bureau

This growth and demographic shift presents challenges and offers opportunities to companies and organizations that attempt to understand and serve diverse populations and their broad set of dynamics.