The United States of America has been called a "melting pot" and "a land of equal opportunity." These terms mean that everyone, regardless of social background, has a point of entry into creating a better life for themselves and achieve the American dream. However, the growing income gap in the American social class structure has shifted the balance of power and concentrated it in the hands of the wealthy and highly educated. This growing trend has cemented the status advantage of the affluent and stagnated the upward progression of the lower classes. Minority groups face the brunt of socioeconomic disadvantages. In recent times, Hispanic Americans have grown to become the largest minority population in America, but a large majority of them are segregated to low skill manual labor posts with lesser wages and opportunities. Since Mexican Americans hold this designation, it is imperative to study what factors contribute to inequality in the workplace as well as in other aspects of life to improve conditions and produce more viable human capital. Under the domain of discrimination, inequality among Hispanic Americans is most certainly of income, but also of education and occupation. This has notable negative cultural repercussions which work to further increase the state of inequality. To paint an accurate picture of segregation and inequality experienced by Hispanic Americans in the U.S, this paper will first outline the situation of income attainment for Hispanics. Then it will explore inequalities in education and the labor market along with analysis of cultural aspects such as discrimination and poverty as potential causes for sustained inequality. It will also provide a reflection on the ideas presented and personal insights into the issues and their potential solutions. In order to characterize the issue of income inequality, it is important to look at the distribution of income in America statistically. These statistics are based on the Census Bureau survey of 2008 which compares household income distribution of black, white and Hispanic families. A little over one-third of all Hispanic families surveyed make less than $25,000. Now "40% of minority families represented fall between $35000 and $100,000" Gilbert (2011:81). While these families live quite comfortably, let's not forget that 50% of minority families are low income and that single mothers are often their heads. 18% of Hispanic families are headed by women. One important point is that "the income gap between female and couple-headed families is greater than that between majority and minority families  Gilbert" (2011:81). Clearly there are more differences separating minorities than just their bank balances. Income inequality definitely influences opportunities that the cultural environment can effectively provide to Hispanics and other minority groups. So what about other missed opportunities that can directly affect occupations and wages? The first avenue to be explored is education because education is regarded as one of if not the most relevant measure of an employee's competence in the workplace. Segregation of Hispanic Americans in terms of educational opportunities is surely one of the root causes of inequality. "Hispanics are among the least educated group in the United States: 11 percent of those over age 25 have earned a bachelor's