By Rebekah Seder, Program Manager

As reports from the 2010 census began rolling in last year, it became clear that the Greater Washington region – along with the rest of the country – is experiencing tremendous demographic change. At the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers’ Brightest Minds event last week, Dr. Jim Johnson, professor of entrepreneurship and strategy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, spoke to funders and nonprofits about the implications of these changes for our region.

He began by noting a number of trends that are impacting our region, including:

• The “browning of America” as the fertility rate of non-Hispanic white women declines below replacement levels, and foreign immigration, as well as interracial marriage, increases;
• The “silver tsunami” – the rapid aging of the population as Baby Boomers turn 65, begin phasing out of the workforce, and become eligible for government entitlement programs; and
• The rise of women in the workforce, as the median wage for men has declined, male college completion rate has plateaued, and male participation in the workforce has decreased, particularly since the beginning of the recession.

These changes pose challenges that the social sector, as well as the for-profit and government sectors, must position themselves to meet. For instance:

• Demographic shifts hold the potential to further entrench the racial achievement gap in schools in areas where there is a racial generation gap. This can create patterns where school-aged people are largely minorities and older people, who do not have children in school, are largely white, and may feel less of a commitment to financially support the public school system.
• Likewise, disparities between males and females in educational attainment have increased, while long-term unemployment has disproportionately affected all people with college degrees; and
• Professional occupations are increasingly in competition with global companies that have access to cheaper workers, putting a strain on many sectors of the workforce

However, with these changes come many opportunities that must be leveraged to ensure the sustainability of the region:

• Because of the rapid aging of the population, elder care is the biggest growth area of the economy;
• Businesses and nonprofits must engage in strategic succession planning to prevent a loss of knowledge and talent as a large segment of the workforce retires; and
• K-12 education must be re-invented in order to foster entrepreneurialism to enable the next generation of workers to compete with their international counterparts.

To ensure that the Greater Washington region capitalizes on the opportunities offered by these changes, Dr. Johnson underscored the need to rebrand the region as a sustainable place to live and do business by embracing immigration, focusing on improving educational outcomes, and recognizing the business development and job creation potential of the elder care economy. Most importantly, the region must achieve this sustainability by emphasizing social justice and equity to ensure that every individual, regardless of their demographic background, has equal access to resources and opportunities to succeed in our changing society.

Dr. Johnson’s presentation is available here.

This was the first program in Brightest Minds, a special colloquium series in honor of WRAG’s 20th anniversary. Registration is now open for the rest of the series. More information at www.washingtongrantmakers.org/brightestminds.