104 PART onE • THE AmERiCAn sYsTEm
Hispanic
Someone who can
claim a heritage from a
Spanish-speaking country.
Hispanics may be of
any race.
Latino
An alternative to the term
Hispanic that is preferred
by many.performance or are so pervasive or severe as to create an intimidating, hostile, or offen-
sive environment.Wage discrimination. Although Title VII and other legislation since the 1960s has man-
dated equal employment opportunities for men and women, women continue to earn
less, on average, than men do. The Equal Pay Act, which was enacted in 1963, basically
requires employers to provide equal pay for substantially equal work. In other words,
males cannot legally be paid more than females who perform essentially the same job.
The Equal Pay Act did not address the fact that certain types of jobs traditionally held by
women pay lower wages than the jobs usually held by men. For example, more women than
men are salesclerks and nurses, whereas more men than women are construction workers
and truck drivers. Even if all clerks performing substantially similar jobs for a company earned
the same salaries, they typically would still be earning less than the company’s truck drivers.
In 2009, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act extended the period during which
women can sue under the Equal Pay Act. It was the first bill signed by President Obama
after his inauguration.ExPERiEnCEs oF
oTHER minoRiTY gRouPs
In a brief textbook edition, it is not possible to describe the experiences of all groups of
Americans who have had to struggle for civil rights. Still, two groups deserve mention:
Hispanic Americans, or Latinos, are now the nation’s largest minority group by population.
American Indians are notable for their unusual and troubled history, and of course because
they were here first.immigration, latinos, and Civil Rights
A century ago, most immigrants to the United States came from Europe. Today, however,
most come from Latin America and Asia. The many new immigrants from Spanish-speaking
countries have significantly increased the Hispanic proportion of the U.S. population. The
number of persons who identify themselves as multiracial is also growing due to interracial
marriages.Hispanic versus latino. To the U.S. Census Bureau, Hispanics can be of any race. They
can be new immigrants or members of families that have lived in the United States for cen-
turies. Hispanics may come from any of about twenty primarily Spanish-speaking countries
and, as a result, are a highly diverse population. The four largest Hispanic groups include
Mexican Americans, at 65.5 percent of all Hispanics. Puerto Ricans, all of whom are U.S.
citizens, constitute 9.1 percent of the total. Salvadorans make up 3.6 percent, and Cuban
Americans, 3.5 percent. The term Hispanic itself, although used by the government, is not
particularly popular among Hispanic Americans. Many prefer the term Latino.The Changing Face of America. As a result of immigration, the ethnic makeup of the
United States is changing. Yet immigration is not the only factor contributing to changes
in the American ethnic mosaic. Another factor is ethnic differences in the fertility rate. The
fertility rate measures the average number of children that women in a given group are
expected to have over the course of a lifetime. A rate of 2.1 is the “long-term replacement
rate.” In other words, if a nation or group maintains a fertility rate of 2.1, its population
will eventually stabilize. This can take many years, however.LO3: Explain the demographic
impacts of immigration and of the
interactions between European
settlers and American Indians.
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