"I thought that in the United States, supposedly the most advanced country in economic terms and one which calls itself the cradle of democracy, something as basic as equality between the sexes would be an established fact, at least on a legal level. But unfortunately, I arrived and found things that almost resemble the Middle Ages when compared with Europe."

That opinion was expressed by a Spanish woman who has lived in the United States for three and a half years. She told Granma International that she had traveled to Cuba because "I thought that people should know about women's situation in the United States, above all that of Hispanic women, since many people in Latin America see that country as a model to be followed, and in fact it is not an appropriate model."

Yolanda Arenales, a business assistant to the editor of La Opinión in Los Angeles, was one of the participants at an information and communication conference held recently in Havana.

Maternity leave not guaranteed

In an interview with Granma International, she said that although it is predicted that women will make up 48% of the U.S. work force by the year 2005, the majority of them continue to work in poorly paid jobs, with less responsibility than men. "Even something like paid maternity leave, that is completely natural in other countries, doesn't exist in the United States," she said.

"I believe that it is certainly unfair, taking into account that there are many single mothers in the United States and it is not possible to always assume that there will be a man who will pay the bills."

But there is even more bad news for U.S. mothers. Companies with less than 50 employees are not even obliged to allow a week off work when a baby is born. "Perhaps they think that mothers can give birth in the bathroom or during their lunch hour," said our interviewee.

Pay and racial disparities

She reported that U.S. white women, who tend to find better jobs, receive 75 cents for every dollar earned by a man for the same work. Meanwhile, for every 20 men with high-salaried mid-range management posts, there is on average only one woman.

The situation is even more difficult in the case of Hispanic women because "there is inequality between ethnic groups as well as between the sexes." She referred to 1996 statistics showing that the average university-educated Latin American woman receives only 57 cents for every dollar earned by a man.

One shouldn't lose sight of the fact that Latin Americans mainly emigrate because of economic problems and they often do so illegally. In many cases they have low educational levels, something difficult to overcome given the high cost of U.S. school and university courses. All of this obliges many Latin Americans to accept onerous and undignified working conditions and to take jobs that white people don't want.

The macho nature of much of Latin American society doesn't help in the case of women. Many Latino men still believe that women should remain at home caring for the children or that they should work in jobs such as secretarial or domestic posts.

Although this reality is generally known, it is not sufficiently reported by the press, said Arenales, noting that in a study carried out two years ago, which included almost the entire coverage of 15 important English-language media sources, only 2% of the reports contained references to discrimination against women.

Government backs business, not women

However, the worst aspect and the one that has the most impact "is that despite the fact that sexual discrimination was finally outlawed in 1968, the Department of Labor does very little to combat it.

Although it is true that anyone who suffers sexual discrimination can theoretically begin legal action, in practice it is very difficult. The necessary proof is difficult to obtain, given that "the criteria for deciding between applicants for a job and awarding promotion are mainly subjective." There is also the problem of reprisals, since "nobody can protect you from a hostile environment that makes it impossible to continue working at a particular company or to find work with others," Arenales pointed out.

She explained that according to the opinion of lawyers who had been consulted on the subject, 90% of work-related sexual discrimination cases end with a pre-trial settlement. These often include confidentiality causes that prevent people from knowing that a sexual discrimination action has been taken against a particular company.

"Paradoxically, it is the rights of the company that are protected rather than those of the worker," she observed. But could we expect anything else in a country where business is king and where everyone's worth is measured in terms of their wealth?

For a sizeable part of U.S. society, discrimination against women is not seen as a violation of civil rights. "It is simply something that happens and that is tolerated." Attempts to combat it are viewed as potentially dangerous to company performance and ultimately, the greater U.S. economy.