A Graying Population Spells Business Opportunity - NYTimes.com

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By NATASHA SINGER

IT’S not easy being gray.

For the first time ever, getting out of a car is no picnic. My back is hunched. And I’m holding on to handrails as I lurch upstairs.

I’m 45. But I feel decades older because I’m wearing an Age Gain Now Empathy System, developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Agnes, they call it.

At first glance, it may look like a mere souped-up jumpsuit. A helmet, attached by cords to a pelvic harness, cramps my neck and spine. Yellow-paned goggles muddy my vision. Plastic bands, running from the harness to each arm, clip my wingspan. Compression knee bands discourage bending. Plastic shoes, with uneven Styrofoam pads for soles, throw off my center of gravity. Layers of surgical gloves make me all thumbs.

The age-empathy suit comes from the M.I.T. AgeLab, where researchers designed Agnes to help product designers and marketers better understand older adults and create innovative products for them. Many industries have traditionally shied away from openly marketing to people 65 and older, viewing them as an unfashionable demographic group that might doom their product with young and hip spenders. But now that Americans are living longer and more actively, a number of companies are recognizing the staying power of the mature market.
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In Oregon, Elder Sleuths Size Up Local Businesses

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by Paula Spann


Elders in Action, a nonprofit advocacy group in Portland, Ore., publishes an extensive directory of local businesses certified, after unannounced visits by undercover volunteers in their 60s through 80s, to be elder-friendly.

Take a look. Auto dealerships, medical practices, moving companies, food markets, travel agents, insurance firms, government agencies — the Elder Friendly Business Certification program has given a literal seal of approval to nearly 300 Portland-area locations.

It works this way: a local company, possibly noticing the surge in the older population and how much financial clout elders have, requests certification. Small businesses pay $200, larger ones $400. (Brief digression: What causes so many innovative concepts in aging, including assisted living, to originate in Oregon? And can we bottle it?)

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As Populations Age, a Chance for Younger Nations - NYTimes.com

Image via WikipediaBy TED C. FISHMAN

YOU MAY KNOW that the world’s population is aging — that the number of older people is expanding faster than the number of young — but you probably don’t realize how fast this is happening. Right now, the world is evenly divided between those under 28 and those over 28. By midcentury, the median age will have risen to 40. Demographers also use another measure, in addition to median age, to determine whether populations are aging: “elder share.” If the share, or proportion, of people over 60 (or sometimes 65) is growing, the population is aging. By that yardstick too, the world is quickly becoming older. Pick any age cohort above the median age of 28 and you’ll find its share of the global population rising faster than that of any segment below the median. By 2018, 65-year-olds, for example, will outnumber those under 5 — a historic first. In 2050, developed countries are on track to have half as many people under 15 as they do over 60. In short, the age mix of the world is turning upside down and at unprecedented rates.

This means profound change in nearly every important relationship we have — as family members, neighbors, citizens of nations and the world. Aging populations also alter how business is done everywhere.
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No Boundaries Employment Series - The Power of You - Disability.gov

Image via WikipediaBy Javier Robles, J.D., President of ThisAbled, LLC

Failure is not an option for people with disabilities, yet we face it every day. We experience the hardships of being unable to do what most people often take for granted. Sometimes it debilitates our ability to believe in the “power of me.” Think about it from my point of view just for a minute. I arrive at a store entrance and cannot open the door, or I go to the doctor and am unable to use the examining table, or I want to reach a book but end up dropping four. One may think that it does not really seem like a lot. However, compound that every day and times it by 10, 20 or 30 things that one has difficulty doing. Then, you are seeing a clearer picture of my life as a quadriplegic. The frustration should be enough to “cripple” me. It should make me unwilling to participate if I cannot participate fully. I propose to you that that is not the human spirit. No matter what the obstacles are, real or imagined, we persevere.

Forward thinking in a backwards world is what pushes people with disabilities to continue progressing, and at times, even existing. It is truly that little flickering light in us that withstands hurricane-size winds, which tells us that tomorrow will be better. Tomorrow will be better – not because I am an optimist by birth, but because I am a realist by experience. The truth is that the “power of me” is going to help me prepare for challenges that I will face. It will assist me in overcoming these challenges and assist others in finding their own power.

For example, I can help my daughter to understand that people with disabilities can work and live productive lives by modeling it for her. She sees that I am like every other parent, attending school activities and driving her to parties, Girl Scouts and the mall. I can build her perspective about who I am as a father with a disability. She will grow to believe that people with disabilities are a part of the societal fabric. Since she has been raised with a perspective which normalizes disability, she is able to see a person with a disability as having strengths and weaknesses, like anyone else.

Businesses, however, are not the type of entities that thrive on life experiences, like my daughter does. Their goal is to make money. Yes, some of them encourage the hiring of people with disabilities; however, this has not translated into greater employment opportunities for our community. So, what do we do to ensure the business community is engaged and sees potential in us? I think we can harness the collective power of our own disability-run and owned businesses to bring the rest into the fold. That is why I am in the process of developing a National Chamber of Commerce for business people with disabilities entitled, The American Federation of Business People with Disabilities. This body can act as a collective voice by empowering business owners with the tools necessary to succeed. In addition, by bringing in other corporations who normally might not be exposed to disability issues, we hope to form a strong coalition of business people with disabilities willing to work on economic empowerment. Here the “power of me” becomes the “power of we.”
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