The reaction of some to recent controversies over immigration, welfare, and the languages spoken in public places - issues that go to the heart of Americas identity as a caring, diverse and inclusive society - has increased the incidence of hate crimes against Hispanics, Asian- Pacific Americans, and others who are stereotyped, often inaccurately, as newcomers to this country
2.
Also, the persistence of religious, ethnic, and sexual intolerance creates a climate where hate crimes are carried out against Jews, Arab Americans, gays and lesbians, women and members of other groups at risk of attack.
From killings and beatings to acts of arson and vandalism, hate crimes injure or even kill thousands of people, terrify countless others, divide Americans against each other, and distort our entire society. To be sure, hate crimes are symptoms of a host of social ills. For all the progress our nation has made in civil and human rights, bigotry in all its forms dies hard. And discrimination is a continuing reality in many areas of American life, including the workplace. .
According to the commission's findings, Americans who are not male, white, and Anglo find their pay and prospects held down. In the Fortune 2000 industrial and service companies, only 5 percent of senior managers are women, and most of them are white. In another example of apparent discrimination, African-American men with professional degrees earn 21 percent less than whites with similar jobs and credentials. And, although Hispanics comprise eight percent of our country's workforce, only 0.4 percent of managers are Hispanic.
The barriers against women and minorities often reflect the crudest and cruelest discrimination, even in major corporations. For instance, in a plan that awaits approval by the courts and the federal Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, Texaco has agreed to pay $115 million to some 1,400 current and former black employees, $26.
