Sheila L. Seshan, Humboldt State University

The area of social change is an important area in the field of Sociology that pertains to many areas within the discipline, especially family studies (Cherlin, 2000; Keefe and Padilla, 1987). This paper examines the role of social change within the family. Specifically, the relationship between ethnicity and intergenerational social change is examined. According to sociologists, social change is defined as "a process through which patterns of social behavior, social relationships, social institutions, and systems of stratification are altered, modified, or transformed over time" (Schwartz and Scott, 2000: 485).

During the last 50 years, the American family has experienced some major social changes, especially in the role and position of women (Haas, 1995). Since World War II, American women have begun to take a more active role in the economic workforce. Women’s participation in the workforce is a trend, which has become especially pervasive in the last 10 years. Today, the norms for female behavior have shifted to include participation in occupations that were traditionally male dominated. Additionally, society has seen an increase in female-headed households.

Past research has shown that both gender and ethnicity are two major factors that influence an individual’s mobility and economic pay scale in the workforce (Cherlin, 2000; Haas, 1995).

In this paper a comparison is conducted between Anglo and Hispanic women on social roles, familial experiences and integration into the workforce. It is hypothesized that social change for both Hispanic and Anglo women across generations will be evident due to a greater observed female integration into the workforce. Another way of saying this is that controlling for ethnicity, the greatest observed intergenerational social change for Anglo and Hispanic women involves female integration into the American workforce.

Social change within the family will be observable through an examination of intergenerational experiences between different female members of the same family, e.g. mother compared with daughter and in some cases grandmother. Through intergenerational relationships and interaction, cultural histories, life-styles, and ethnic traditions are passed on to the younger generations (Wilkinson, 1993).

Keefe and Padilla (1987) have found generational analysis to be quite useful in examining the relationship between ethnicity and kinship relationships. In their in-depth study of family structure and interaction among recent immigrants and long time Mexican American residents, Keefe and Padilla (1987) found that "familism" (the attachment to one’s nuclear family and to the extended family and/or an obligation or orientation to the family (Baca Zinn and Eitzen, 1999: 472) persists across time, immigration and acculturation (1987: 155). Familism can be divided into four key components: demographic Familism, structural familism, normative familism and finally, behavioral familism. Demographic familism focuses upon sociodemographic changes in the particular ethnic group. Structural familism focuses on the presence or absence of extended households. Normative familism focuses on the emotional ties of family unity and solidarity (Baca Zinn and Eitzen, 1999). Finally, behavioral familism has to do with the interaction between family and kin networks. Kinship networks have been found to play a very important role in the development of the family.

Mexican-Americans do not traditionally completely assimilate into Anglo culture. The lack of complete Mexican-American assimilation is partially due to the importance that this group places on maintaining their own Latino culture. An additionally barrier to complete assimilation is the psychological reward that comes from interacting with members of one’s own ethnic group (Keefe and Padilla, 1987). An examination of Mexican-American immigrants found that once they have migrated permanently into the U.S, they tend to settle in one geographic place where they remain for generations" (Keefe and Padilla, 1987: 167). Keefe and Padilla (1987) found that it is a norm for Mexican American families to limit the geographical distance that they travel from the family. As a result, Mexican-Americans who ascribe to this ethnic social norm often experience limited social and economic mobility.

With the increasing ethnic plurality of American society, the influence of ethnicity on family structure, behavior and norms has become a more salient variable for family studies than in the past.

Studies have shown that ethnicity is a very influential factor on familial behavior (Rodriguez, 1998). One of the more common theories of ethnicity and the family is derived from modernization theory (Marshall, 1981; Rosenthal, 1983). According to this theoretical perspective, family ethnicity determines the degree of modernity or lack of modernity. Under the modernization theory, ethnic families are classified as being more "traditional" than Anglo families. Traditional families are very focused upon social ties and social relationships that occur within the family. Conversely, "modern" families, focus more upon maintaining the individuality of family members and less on the emotional feelings associated with familial social ties. Much family/ethnic research describes Hispanic families as being more focused upon the emotional side of family relations, which includes: family cohesion, intergenerational exchange and general social support (Sabogal, Marin & OteroSabogal, 1987; Rodriguez & Kosloski, 1998). However, the literature also suggests that the increasing modernization of ethnic families leads to the destruction in familial relations, social ties and intergenerational social exchange.

Familial relations have been found to be extremely important for a variety of Latin American cultures (Cortes, 1995; Marin, 1993; Rogler & Cooney, 1984; Sabogal, Marin & OteroSabogal, 1987). Research on the modern versus traditional families has produced some disturbing results on the relationship between Anglo acculturation and the maintenance of traditional Hispanic family values. Studies have shown that Hispanic family values and belief systems begin to wane as individuals become increasingly integration into mainstream Anglo-American culture (Cortes, 1995; Marin, 1993; Rodriguez & Kosloski, 1998).

The degree of familial social change experienced by a Mexican-American family may be explained by examining both acculturation and assimilation. Acculturation occurs when a particular ethnic group "adopts the values, attitudes, and behaviors of the dominant group" (Baca Zinn & Eitzen 1999: 469). Assimilation is sometimes viewed as being more negative than acculturation. Assimilation occurs when individual or group norms are replaced by the dominant group’s cultural norms and practices (Baca Zinn & Eitzen, 1999; McAdoo, 1995). The negative view of assimilation occurs because certain cultural norms and practices are lost when they are "replaced" by the dominant group’s cultural norms and practices.

There are certain differences that have been noted within the Hispanic culture between recent Mexican immigrants to the U.S. and long-time Mexican-American residents. Assimilation and acculturation occur amongst both groups but in varying levels. In their comparative study of immigrant and native Mexican-Americans, Keefe and Padilla (1987) found that native-born Mexican Americans experience a selective acculturation. In particular, the maintenance of family ties, are sustained and surprisingly even strengthened from generation to generation.

The process of acculturation for immigrant groups is gradual and increasingly perpetuates over generations (Chen 1999 could put some more in here). Family theorists have found that acculturation can cause serious intergenerational social disruption for Mexican American families (Grebler, More & Guzman, 1970; Markides & Black, 1996). Culturally, Hispanic families experience greater social interaction (including the existence of the extended family living situation) and emotional support than Anglo families (Holmes & Holmes, 1995; Lubben & Becerra, 1983; Stomomayor & Randolph, 1988). In the Hispanic family, the elders play an important role in educating the younger generations about the Hispanic family culture and family history (Maldonado, 1979). As a result, in extended family living situations, the older members of the family often culturally socialize younger members of the family.

Studies have found that income and social mobility do have an effect on the degree of acculturation that often occurs in families. For example, career advancement often necessitates that the individual be willing to move to where the job is. Therefore, upward economic mobility could significantly contribute to increased loss of family ties, interactions and norms as individuals move further away from their roots (Chen, 1999).

An important relationship exists between gender and ethnicity, especially for Hispanic women. One-half of the 31 million Hispanic population living in the United States is composed of women (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1998). Hispanic women play a very important role in the demographic growth of the Hispanic population and have the highest birthrate among U.S. women (Salgado de Snyder, 1999: 229). In their 1998 review of Social Science articles pertaining to Hispanics and Latinos, Salgado de Snyder (1999) found that only 3.2 % of the articles indexed on Psychlit dealt with Hispanic women. This small percentage indicates the need for social science researchers to further delve into these topics.

Although women have been integrated into the U.S.workforce, many are still evaluated in society according to their performance as housekeepers and mothers (Haas, 1995). Haas notes that women must arrange their participation in the paid labor market around their families’ needs. In addition to gender, studies have indicated that social class is an important influencing variable upon assimilation and integration into Anglo society. Hispanics are now the minority group highest poverty rate in the United States (Baca Zinn & Eitzen, 1999). McAdoo (1993) proposes that ethnic group membership is probably a more influential element for an individual than social class. However, the importance of social class is that it influences an individual’s movement in and out of certain social groups.

Women’s attitudes on gender roles are often influenced by their own familial experiences. A study conducted by Moen et al. (1997) found that attitudes and beliefs about women’s roles are often learned during the early family socialization process and through their own "mother’s instruction and example" (1997: 282). Their study also suggests that women’s socialization of gender roles may be influenced by the socioeconomic position of their parents (Monet et. al., 1997).

In an effort to understand both Hispanic and Anglo female intergenerational relations, key-informant interviews were conducted with six families (three Hispanic families and three Anglo families). The interviews were conducted in Silver City, New Mexico, which is located approximately 80 miles from the international border with Mexico. Interviews were conducted during the months of June and July 2000. Key-informant interviews occurred in the home of one of the key-informants (in most cases interviews were conducted in the home of the mother).

Families were chosen for participation in the study who had a familial history in the area which spanned anywhere from 20-50 or more years and who had at least two living generations of female family members over the age of 18. In-depth interviews were conducted with at least two female members (mother and daughter) of the family, and in some cases three female family members (grandmother, mother, daughter). Individual key-informant interviews took approximately one hour to complete.

The in-depth interview schedule consisted of 40 open-ended questions. In most cases, the interviews were conducted on the same day and in the same location. Sometimes, due to time constraints, the interviews were conducted within the presence of the other female members of the family. This practice created an interesting dynamic between the multiple generations participating in the study and often offered an introspective view of intergenerational familial change to the participating female members of the family. The in-depth interview schedule asked questions related to the individual’s familial experience and charted a brief history of female family member’s work experience. Additionally, sociodemographic questions were asked about respondents’ levels of education, income and length of residence.

The data presented below is grouped into ethnic categories. First, a summary is provided of the Anglo family interviews, this is followed by a discussion of the Hispanic family interviews.

In total three Anglo families were interviewed. All three families live in the Silver City, New Mexico area. The Silver City area is also known as The Mining District, which includes the towns of Bayard, Hurley and Santa Clara.

Family #1. For this family the intergenerational interviews spanned three generations, consisting of a mother, daughter and grandmother. The ages of the informants are as follows: mother age 44, daughter, age 21 and grandmother, age 70. The mother had the highest income, in the $46-55,999 category. The daughter had the lowest income category of below $15,000 and the grandmother had an income range of $15,000-21,999. In this Anglo family, both the mother and grandmother had a high school education and the daughter was working on completing her college degree. All three women reported that they had worked out of the home at some point during their lives. Both the mom and grandmother had worked in the service industry, while the daughter had worked as an office clerk.

Question 25 was the label identification question which gave informants a chance to choose from four potential social labels: a) "career woman," b.) "wife" c.) "mother" d.) "homemaker." After choosing as many labels as they personally identified with, respondents were asked to rank the labels in order of what they identified with most from 1 (best described the respondent), 4 (least described the respondent). In Family #1, both the mom and daughter listed "wife" as their #1 label, and "career woman" as the label that they identified with the least. The grandmother said that she identified most with the "mother" label, and least with the "homemaker" label.

When asked about what their parents expected of them, the responses varied. The mom said that her parents "expected her to be happy." The daughter said that her parent’s expectations were for her "to be a good person and a religious person." The grandmother said that her parents had expected her to "be a good wife." In terms of what these women expected for their own daughters, the mother expected that her daughter "could achieve whatever she wanted to." The daughter expected that her daughter could "just be herself," and the grandmother expected that her daughter "could be happy."

When asked if it was easier or harder for a young women to function today, the mother was the only one who thought that it was easier today for women to get out into the work world. She also said however that it was confusing for women because "the home still needs them."

Both the daughter and the grandmother felt that it was harder for women to function in society today as opposed to earlier in history. The daughter felt that it was harder today because "now women have to raise kids, and be a housewife." The grandmother reported that it was harder today for women because "there are more outside pressures from society in general." Another question asked about differences between Hispanic and Anglo women. The mother felt that Hispanic women were "more religious" and "valued family more than Anglo women." The daughter felt that Hispanic young women were favored over Anglo women for sports teams at her high school. The grandmother felt that in Hispanic families, "the husband controls what happens." Finally, respondents were asked what advice they had for young women today. All three responses had to do with achievement and following one’s dreams to achieve personal goals.

Anglo Family #2. In Anglo Family #2 the level of education was graduate school for the mother (age 71) and some college for the daughter (age 45), who is in the process of working towards her Bachelor’s degree. The mother had an average income of $46,000-55,999 and the daughter’s average household income was below $15,000. In this family, both the mother and daughter had worked outside of the home. The mother had worked as an educator and the daughter had held various jobs in the service industry. The mother and daughter both reported that their mother had worked outside of the home at some point when they were growing up. In terms of label identification, the mother identified first with the "mother" label, followed by "career woman," and finally "wife." The daughter only identified with the "career woman" label.

When asked about what their parents’ expectations had been for each of them, both mother and daughter reported that "getting an education" and "finding happiness" were the expectations. The mother added, "having a family," to her list of parental expectations. In terms of their expectations for their own daughters, the mother listed "education and happiness," and the daughter did not answer the question. When asked if it was harder or easier for women in society today, both mother and daughter responded with "easier today." The mother felt that it was easier today because, "people are much more open-minded today than like in the past." The daughter replied, "it’s easier now because now, you are not limited in terms of what you can do." For differences between Anglo and Hispanic women, the mother reported, "Anglo women have more freedom to get an education." She also listed segregation as being an issue. The daughter said that Hispanic women are more "clannish" than Anglo women. In terms of advice for younger women today, the mother advised that younger women be "true to yourself." The daughter advised younger women today to "get educated."

Anglo Family #3. Anglo family #3 consisted of three generations (grandmother, mother and daughter). This is a unique situation since they all live in the same town and the mother and grandmother live together as an extended family. Additionally, the daughter interacts with the mother and grandmother on a daily basis, which further contributes to the extended family structure.

In this family, the mother (age 58) is a college graduate. Both the daughter and grandmother have completed some college. The daughter is in the process of working towards her Bachelor’s degree and has already received her Associate’s Degree. The mother has the highest household income, in the range of $46,000- 55,999 per year. Both the grandmother and daughter had the same reported annual household income ($15,000-21,999). All three female family members reported that they had worked outside of the home at some point in time. The mother had worked in the field of education, while the daughter had held various office jobs and grandmother had worked in the service industry (in conjunction with a lot of volunteer work as an international missionary).

All three women reported that when they were growing up, their mom worked outside of the home. When asked to identify with a series of labels, the mother had the following list: 1) "homemaker," 2) "wife" 3) "mother" and 4) "career woman." The daughter first identified with 1) "career woman;" followed by 2) "homemaker;" 3) "wife" and finally, 4) "mother." The grandmother identified first with 1) "career woman." This was followed by 2) "homemaker;" 3) "wife" and finally 4) "mother." The mother felt that when she was growing up her parents wanted her "to have the freedom to achieve her goals." The daughter and the grandmother felt that their parents expected them "to get an education." In terms of the informant’s personal expectations for her own daughters, the mother expected that her daughter would "get an education." The daughter expected that her own daughter would get an education and focus on her own personal happiness. The grandmother expected her daughter to "get a job."

When asked if life was harder or easier now for women, the mother reported that she felt it was harder now because today, "There is a lot of confusion over roles that wasn’t around before." The daughter felt that it was easier now in some respects because "women don’t have limitations now like they used to." However, the daughter also felt that it was harder "because women have to fight and work so hard for the pennies that they do make." The grandmother said "it was harder back then," and did not elaborate further on this question.

When asked about the differences between Hispanic and Anglo women, the mother replied, "the wealthier Anglos move away from the area." The daughter noted that she sometimes she feels racial tension from Hispanic women. The grandmother felt that Hispanic women "cater to their husbands more than Anglo women," are more subservient to men and "have babies earlier." In answer to the question, "What sort of advice do you have for younger women today?" the mother replied that younger women should "develop themselves." The daughter said that younger women should "follow their dreams." The grandmother said that younger women should "educate themselves and learn a new skill."

In total three Hispanic families were interviewed. All three Hispanic families live in Bayard, New Mexico, which is approximately 10 miles from Silver City, New Mexico. Bayard, New Mexico is predominantly a Hispanic town.

Hispanic Family #1. Hispanic Family #1 consists of members of three generations (mother, daughter and grandmother). This family represents an extended family system, since the grown daughter (age 24) lives at home with her mother. Additionally, the family interacts frequently with the grandmother who lives in the same town. The highest level of education completed by the mom (age 51) is high school and eighth grade for the grandmother (age 80). The daughter has completed her Bachelor’s Degree from college. In terms of level of income, the mother has the highest level of household income ($36,000-45,999). The grandmother has the lowest level of household income (below $15,000) and the daughter did not answer this question.

All three of the women reported that they have worked outside of the home. The mother has worked in the service industry, while the daughter works as a social worker. The grandmother had worked previously in a factory and was an employee of the local mining company. When asked if their mother ever worked outside of the home when they were growing up the mom said "yes," while both the daughter and grandmother replied, "no." For the question that asked the women to identify with a series of labels, the mom first identified with 1) "homemaker," followed by 2) "mother" and finally, 3) "wife." The daughter identified with the "career woman" label. The grandmother identified with 1) "mother", 2) "wife" and 3) "homemaker."

In terms of parental expectations, the mother said that her parents expected her to "get married" and "to be a homemaker." The daughter and grandmother both reported that their parents expected them "to get an education." The mother expected her daughter to "be happy in her marriage." The daughter expected her future daughter to "get an education." The grandmother said that she expected her daughters to "be happy in their marriages." When asked about the ease of functioning in society today, the mother reported "it is harder today for women." She says, "it wasn’t hard for us to lead the lifestyle that we did. We played with our friends." The mom felt that the current generation is "always bored," and expects a lot of excitement and entertainment that her generation did not expect. The daughter said "it is easier today than in the past for women to function in society." She notes, "For me it’s easy because I’ve never run into discrimination before in my life…. I don’t have anything to worry about." The grandmother said that it was easier today for women to function in society because, "they learn so much in school and know better ways of living…they can see what is going on."

All three women were asked about the differences that exist between Anglo and Hispanic women. The mother reported that Anglo women had better incomes and received a better level of education than Hispanic women. The daughter replied that Hispanic women have more of a cultural tradition than Anglo women and that Hispanic women are more "family oriented." The grandmother replied, "Anglo women received more of an education than Hispanic women." For the question of advice for younger women, both the mother and the daughter said that younger women should "get an education." The grandmother advised that younger women should "work, marry later and have fewer children."

Hispanic Family #2. Hispanic Family #2 consisted of a mother and daughter. The mother (age 73 years) and daughter (age 36 years) were both high school graduates. The mother did not answer the income question, but the daughter replied that she had an income range between $15,000 and $21,999. The mother and daughter both replied that they had worked outside of the home at some point. The mother had worked as a store owner/homemaker, while the daughter had worked as a substitute teacher. When each woman was asked about her own mother’s involvement in the workforce, the mother replied that her mother had not worked outside of the home, while the daughter said that her mother had worked outside of the home while she was growing up.

In the question that asks the women to identify with a series of labels, the mother identified with the following, 1) "wife," 2) "mother" and 3) "homemaker." The daughter, on the other hand, identified with the following series of labels, 1) "mother," 2) "wife" and 3) "homemaker." When asked about her parent’s expectations for her, the mother answered, "her parents expected her to work." The daughter replied that her parents expected her "to get an education." The women were then asked about their own expectations for their daughters. The mother said that she "expected her daughters to get an education and to have a career." The daughter said that she "expected her daughters to achieve their goals and to get an education."

When asked about the hard or ease of women’s functioning in society, the mother thought, "it was harder today for women because the woman is working and has no time for the children." The daughter reported that she thinks its harder today for younger women to function in society "because of the notion that they need to grow up quicker and that moral values have changed for the worse." Mother and daughter were both asked about differences that they noticed between Hispanic and Anglo women. The mother replied, "Hispanic women are closer with their families than Anglo women." She also noted that during her lifetime she had experienced prejudice against Hispanics from the Anglos. The daughter noted that Hispanic families are more closely knit as opposed to Anglo families. The last question asked both mother and daughter if they had any advice for younger women today. The mother replied, "younger women should have respect for themselves." The daughter advised, "younger women should be more religious."

Hispanic Family #3. The third Hispanic Family that was interviewed consisted of a mother (age 49) and a daughter (age 29). Both mother and daughter had completed some college. The mother chose not to answer the level of income question but the daughter replied that she was in the $22,000-35,999 income category. Both replied that they had worked outside of the home at some point and that both of their mothers had worked outside of the home when they were growing up. The mother has worked in various office jobs, as has the daughter.

When asked about what labels that they specifically identify with, the mother reported that she most closely identifies with the label "wife." She next identified with the label "mom" and then "homemaker." The final label that the mom identified with was "career woman." For this family, the daughter first identified with the label "career woman." The daughter next identified with the label "mother." When asked about their parents’ expectations for their daughters when they were growing up, the mom reported that her parents had expected her "not to screw up and embarrass the family." The mother also stated that parents expected that the men would dominate. She also stated, "verbal and physical abuse, you have to put up with them." The daughter felt that when her parents’ expectations for her were that when she graduated that she would "get out on her own."

In terms of the respondents’ expectations for their daughters, the mother expected that her daughter would be "educated" and "obtain her personal goals." The daughter stated that she expected her own daughters to become "educated and to fulfill themselves." When asked if it was easier or harder for women to function in society, the mother replied that today it is easier for women in society "because one of the biggest issues was discrimination… (and now) you don’t have to put up with all of this stuff." The daughter replied that it was harder today because "women have to struggle to get the same pay as men."

When asked about the differences between Hispanic and Anglo families, the mother reported that Hispanic women "are more family oriented." The daughter replied that Hispanic women take care of themselves better than Anglo women and are "cleaner, more family oriented, traditional and knowledgeable about their own culture." Both mother and daughter were then asked about what advice they would have for younger women today. The mother advised that younger women should "get an education." The daughter advised that women should be themselves and "do something for themselves and the kids."

An examination of the data suggests a preponderance of similarities and differences between the six families that were interviewed. Similarities exist in women’s participation in the workforce. At least one family member (and in most cases all of the female members of the family, regardless of generation) participated in the workforce. Therefore, the initial hypothesis that was tested in this study was not supported. The initial hypothesis proposed that the main social change observed over time for Hispanic and Anglo women would be a greater participation in the workforce. The majority of women who were surveyed in this study worked outside of the home during some part of their lives. Women’s work experience outside of the home included the grandmothers. Surprisingly, this study did reveal some interesting differences between Hispanic and Anglo women.

The main noticeable difference that appeared between Anglo and Hispanic women was in their answers to the question, "What are your expectations for your daughter?" The majority of Anglo women (four), regardless of generation, focused on the personal happiness of their daughters as a common answer. "Getting an education" was the next most common expectation for Anglo daughters. However, for the Hispanic women, four of the women’s responses focused on "education" as their main expectation for their daughter. The difference in expectations between Anglo and Hispanic women for their daughters may be reflective of the Hispanic culture, which highly values and respects education. Additionally, this finding highlights another cultural difference between the Hispanic and Anglo women. The results in this study indicate that Anglo women appear to be more focused on the "self-realization" of their daughters, whereas Hispanic women are "more focused on the practical aspect of survival" for their daughters, which comes in the form of education. It should also be noted that "getting an education" for their daughters was an especially common expectation for many of the younger Hispanic women, but not as common among the older Hispanic women who were interviewed for this study.

Another ethnic difference was noted in response to the question, "What sort of advice do you have for younger women today?" Five of the Anglo women gave advice that focused around achieving your goals and dreams and none of the Hispanic women gave this advice. However, consistent with the pattern observed in the above mentioned question, three Hispanic women gave advice which focused on getting an education, when only two Anglos reported "getting an education" as their prioritized form of advice for younger women.

Some similarities were observed across the Anglo and Hispanic culture. For example, the majority of women identified with the label of "wife" or "mother" over all of the other labels. The younger women tended to be more likely to identify with the label of career woman. In this same line of thought, younger vs. older Hispanic and Anglo women were more likely to have the expectation that their daughters would get an education. Another similarity emerged across ethnic groups and that was in answer to the question: "Is it harder or easier for women to function in today’s society?" For both Anglos and Hispanics, one-half of the respondents feel that it is harder for women to function in society today while the other half feel that it is harder for women to function in today’s society. No real difference in response was noted between daughters, mothers and/or grandmothers. Therefore, "the ease of functioning" question elicits similar responses across both ethnic and generational boundaries.

Another similarity that surfaced between Anglo and Hispanic women came in response to the question, "What are some differences between Anglo and Hispanic women?" Interestingly, Hispanic women tended to be viewed both by themselves and by Anglos as being 1) more aware of their culture and tradition and 2) more family oriented. For the above-mentioned question, almost all of the Hispanic families interviewed gave responses that were very similar to Anglo responses.

Perceptions of Anglo women by Hispanic women vary, and include the commonality of racial discrimination. All three of the Anglo daughters who were interviewed felt that they had experienced some form of racial discrimination from Hispanic women. This discrimination came in the form of participation on a sports team for one of the daughters. Another one of the daughters reported that Hispanic women appeared to be "clannish."

In conclusion, it can be noted that the greatest similarity between Anglo and Hispanic women is their participation in the general workforce. What this indicates is that in the Grant County Mining District, women have been actively involved in the workforce for the last 50 years in addition to working the second shift (taking care of household duties at home). Similarities were also found in the perceptions of Hispanic women across ethnic and generational boundaries. However, interestingly, there wasn’t one general stereotype of Anglo women, except that perhaps they are perceived as being a little less family-oriented than Hispanic women.

Support was also offered for the fact that Hispanic families are viewed as being more "traditional" families. According to Modernization Theory, non-Anglo families are often characterized as being more traditional than Anglo families (Marshall 1981; Rosenthal 1983). In this study, Hispanics were perceived both by themselves and Anglos as being more family-oriented. This finding suggests a more "traditional" classification for Hispanic families and a more "modern" classification for Anglo families. Modern families focus more upon maintaining the individuality of family members. Support for Anglos being defined as "modern" families is evidenced by the responses to the question that asked women about their expectations for their daughters. Anglos number one expectation for their daughters was "happiness." The Anglo focus on personal happiness supports a "modern" definition of family.

The importance of getting an education also emerged as a key finding in this study. The positive aspect of this finding is that it indicates the recognized importance of female advancement and participation in the workforce. This study indicates that while Hispanic women are somewhat integrated into mainstream American society they still retain a strong element of their cultural background. This study also suggests that although Hispanic and Anglo women have some differences, they are similar in their desire for the success and achievement of their children. With the increasing popularity of inter-ethnic couples, it will be interesting to see how some of the perceived cultural differences are integrated into the 21^st century. The current trend suggests that both Anglo and Hispanic women will continue to juggle the dual roles of mother and career woman well into the next century.

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