What is Generation Y

This chapter reviews how the passage of United States federal Equal Employment Opportunity laws between 1960 and 2000 related to race, gender, age, and national origin led to increased diversity of the labor force in gender, race, and ethnicity, an increase which is ongoing. Data from the U.S. Departments of Labor and Census indicate these laws substantially increased the percentage of Black, Hispanic and Asian and female workers. Between 2003 and 2013, the percentage of the labor force that is women, Black, Hispanic and Asian continued to increase, with the largest gains being of Hispanic and Asian employees. The chapter demonstrates how utilizing diversity improves the research and practice of HRD. This increasing diversity requires practitioners to rethink the methods they use to deliver training and development programs. Further, researchers should examine how the increased diversity impacts all areas of HRD, such as training, mentoring, and work-life balance.