Chapter 4: Global Demographic Trends: Impact on Workforce
Diversity
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. The working-age population in the least developed countries is growing rapidly and in the traditional
pattern among youth. This growth is particularly pronounced because worldwide ______.
2. In what way are global demographic workforce trends shifting?
3. What demographic trends are countries around the world experiencing with regard to their working-age
populations?
4. What impact is global integration, a phenomenon where both employers and employees are migrating,
having on workforce diversity?
5. Recent research in several more developed countries suggest that life expectancy is not only growing
the numbers of people who are surviving to the end of normal work life, but pushing ______ and disability
back.
6. At the beginning of the 20th century, the world had 1.7 billion people. By 2050, that number is expected
to surge to 9.5 billion. What contributing factor has led to this growth?
7. For the world as a whole, how many years has life expectancy at birth increased?
8. In addition to greater improvements in life expectancy, what other factor has contributed to a growth in
the labor force?
9. What challenges do employers and societies face as a result of people living longer healthier lives?
10. What factors are leading to an increase of diversity within the workforce?
11. Worldwide, between 2015 and 2050, the United Nations expects the working-age population (ages
15–59) to ______.
12. Every year, an estimated ______ children from Central America and Mexico enter the United States
illegally in an effort to reunite with their mothers.
13. The most significant impact of HIV/AIDS on workforce demographics may not be on the numbers of
workers, but on the ______.
14. In countries such as Germany, Italy, Japan, or the Russian Federation, the United Nations expects
there to be fewer people ages 15–59. Even if fertility rates increase in these countries, the current deficit
in young people cannot be replaced, EXCEPT by ______.
15. What country may be the last frontier for “excess” labor available for low-wage competition in their
home countries or to fill jobs in developing countries that have fewer working-age people?
16. Which area of the world is expected to see the biggest change in their population ages 15–59
between 2015 and 2050?
17. The “Second Demographic Transition” is a trend where ______.
18. Countries like France, who have made it easier for women to combine child-rearing and work see
what as an effect?
19. What contributed to the slowdown of migration into the United States from Mexico starting in 2005?
20. Many Filipina women have found a large international demand for their service as caregivers to
children and to the elderly. Which country has been a popular destination due to their friendly policies in
providing Filipina women employment opportunities to offer these caregiver services?
21. With all the fees associated with the legal work opportunities in Taiwan, which country do many
women head to in order to work illegally for wages as little as $3 per hour, with no pay for overtime.
22. Annual migration flows may be small relative to the rest of the world, but what differences tend to
make migrants particularly visible?
23. In addition to births and deaths, what is another element of population change?
24. Since the 1960s, migration flows from developing countries—to both developed and other developing
countries alike—have ______.
25. Given the relatively low fertility rates in Europe, what estimated number of immigrants would Europe
need in order to stabilize its working age population levels?
26. The new poles of economic growth are anticipated to change the path of the migratory flows. What is
the new path that is anticipated?
27. Casper is the CEO of an international company planning to open a new factory in Europe. He plans to
meet with several prospective employees to tell them about his company. What motivation can he offer to
convince people to leave their home country?
28. Which type of migration is less problematic from a cultural and racial standpoint?
29. Net migration from Mexico was essentially zero between 2005 and 2010. What factor contributed to
this condition?
30. What category of immigrants has now become so large that they are overwhelming the systems
designed to process and measure them?
31. Filipina women have found a large international demand for their services as caregivers to children
and to the elderly. Why has Canada been a particularly popular destination?
32. As of 2013, which is the leading country that sends the most immigrants to the United States?
33. In ______, little has changed where agriculture remains the primary industry and women have
generally been active (though not usually in the paid labor force) throughout their lives, including
childbearing years.
34. “Women in the workplace” has been said to be the most important component of diversity at the
national level in most of the world. What factors make this true?
35. Global economic development policy makes fostering women’s employment opportunities ______ in
developing countries.
36. The rate of participation of women in the workforce is increasing. What trends may account for this
rise?
37. What employment-related barriers are women in the workforce likely to face?
38. How have the ages of a woman’s children affected her participation in the workforce?
39. Until recent decades, women in industrialized countries typically entered the labor force as soon as
they completed their formal education, leaving within a few years to bear and raise children. What has
caused this trend to change?
40. Which region of the world saw the largest decrease of women’s participation in the labor force
between the years 2000 and 2013?
41. What single factor added more people to the U.S. population throughout the 20th century than did the
significant amount of immigration the country experienced?
42. Why might individuals stay in the workforce as they move into old age?
43. Which country below contains the highest percentage of working-age people over 40 years old?
44. Having both Baby Boomers and Millennials in the workplace has sometimes created work–
engagement challenges for management. What’s an example of a new corporate trend aimed to mitigate
these challenges?
45. Based on studies, how has the Millennial generation been characterized?
46. Based on studies, how has the Baby Boomer generation been characterized?
47. In the past few decades, what has made racial and ethnic diversity in the workforce a particularly
important issue in many industrialized countries?
48. In countries with little or no population growth, people with disabilities can ______ the labor supply.
49. The civil rights movement has fostered a continued striving for fairness toward all population groups in
the workplace, including people with ______.
50. What has been considered the main reason for the limited advancements in protection of transgender
people around the world?
True/False
1. The working-age population in the least developed countries has not grown over the years, while the
working-age population in the world’s most developed countries is experiencing a rapid increase.
2. Higher educational attainment has a direct correlation to better health in old age.
3. Migration in the United States from Mexico slowed so much starting in 2005 that it ceased to exceed
return migration.
4. The United States continues to have enough births to keep its working-age population constant, so
immigration serves to grow that population.
5. Increasing numbers and shares of women in the workplace may be the most important component of
diversity at the national level in most of the world.
6. In addition to the economic benefits of turning dependents into producers, research has shown that
women’s paid employment decreases human capital investment in children and thus changes the future
of the labor force.
7. In developing countries, most women and men who survive until old age must remain in the labor
force.
8. In the past few decades, immigration and differential fertility trends have made racial and ethnic
diversity in the workforce an important issue in many industrialized countries.
9. During the first decade of the 21st century, immigration to the United States from Mexico increased
while immigration from China declined.
10. Whether women’s labor force participation rates are high or low, the gap between women’s
participation in the labor force and men’s participation in the labor force is widening in most regions.
Essay
1. What are reasons that more developed countries are undergoing an unprecedented demographic
transition, one which calls into question traditional assumptions about the characteristics of the working–
age population?
2. The developing world has unprecedented numbers of young people, many of whom would have died at
young ages before the public health advances of the last half of the century. What are some of the health–
related trends that took place?
3. Why is country migration data generally imperfect?
4. What tips can you offer to help employers understand generational and cohort differences in an effort
to improve the experience of Millennials and create a more inclusionary work environment?
5. What employment related barriers do employees who identify with a gender other than their birth
gender face and how can organizations create a more inclusionary environment that meets the needs of
this population of employees?
