Employment Discrimination Statistics By Charge Receipts, Type, Region, Projections And Trends

Maitrayee Dey
Written by
Maitrayee Dey

Updated · Nov 08, 2024

Aruna Madrekar
Edited by
Aruna Madrekar

Editor

Employment Discrimination Statistics By Charge Receipts, Type, Region, Projections And Trends

Introduction

Employment Discrimination Statistics: Working conditions remain one of the major issues worldwide where individuals are discriminated against because of their race, gender, age, disability, and religion, among other factors. In the year twenty-four, numerous publications and research studies have shown that gender discrimination in England has had a significant impact on the productivity of the employees and the mental growth of the company and its employees.

Employment discrimination statistics indicate that some improvement is noted, but there are still many sections that require considerable changes in order to facilitate equality among the employees.

Editor’s Choice

  • Employment discrimination statistics show the $320 billion Economic impact of discrimination worldwide on an annual basis.
  • 38% Prevalence of workplace discrimination among racial minorities.
  • 15.5% Gender wage gap across the world.
  • 20% vs. 5% Unemployment rate for disabled persons as opposed to other persons.
  • 28% Proportion of LGBTQ individuals who experience discrimination in the workplace.
  • $150 million Enterprise value loss for U.S. companies as a result of cases of sexual harassment proved in court.
  • 50%: Proliferation of psychological problems for workers who are victims of discrimination.
  • Employment discrimination statistics reveal that More than 30% of all discrimination allegations filed in the workplace are factors above, including, but not limited to, discrimination related to disability, gender, and race, as well as discrimination on retaliatory grounds.
  • In this case, however, the widest gap withstood by those compensating this specific range of discrimination is the most notable rendering of all, with approximately 37632 entries inscribed in the 2020 national statistics alone.
  • The latter, that is, discrimination on account of genetic information, is the least active, accounting for roughly 440 portions.
  • It has been identified that in the US, 61% of employees state that they have either seen or experienced discrimination in the workplace.
  • Employment discrimination statistics indicate that in the last few years, the EEOC has filed approximately 93 cases of discrimination in courts and won about 165 of them on their substantive merits.
  • It is interesting to note that equal pay claims have a higher resolution rate of about 22.1% compared to other discrimination types in claims filed.
  • In the year 2021, employers spent approximately 488481000 dollars as the settlement amount for the discriminated employees.
  • However, the failure to win cases on racial discrimination has the lowest rate in all cases filed at only 15%.
  • The most prevalent form of claim can be observed in retaliation claims, which account for 56% of the total claims lodged.
  • Employment discrimination statistics show that Discrimination at the workplace has been experienced by employees of different age brackets, with 66% of the workers aged 45 years and above being the biggest victims.
  • Specifically, when asked if companies tackle social causes, 61% of Gen Z workers said that they would be more engaged and productive.
  • About the earning gap between men and women, women working in the hospitality sector earn only 79 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts, while unemployed applicants with disabilities have 25% lower chances of getting job offers.
  • Out of a survey conducted, 75% of the respondents who were black reported having experienced discrimination in employment.
  • At the same time, also discrimination based on gender was found to be predominantly high in leadership ranks, with 31% from the C-Suite level, 26% from directors, and 23% from managers.

Work Discrimination Charge Receipts

Work Discrimination Charge Receipts

  • These Employment discrimination statistics pertain to the number of age discrimination cases reported in various states in the United States. It can be seen that there are varying age discrimination complaints in every state, with California and Texas recording the most complaints, with 1486 cases each.
  • This is most likely because the two states have very big economies and a large population, thereby increasing the chances of having more cases.
  • Other states that do not lag are Florida, which has 988 claims, and New York, which has 256 claims, while Illinois and Pennsylvania filed out over 745 and 864 cases, respectively.
  • Generally, the populous states with high incidences of age discrimination and aggrieved complaints are also the states with the best-developed economies.
  • From this, it can be inferred that the bigger the workforce, the more people engaged in work there are, the more discriminatory complaints registered.
  • On the other hand, higher-ranked states in terms of age discrimination complaints, such as Vermont (7), North Dakota (19), and South Dakota (18), do not incorporate these problems, possibly as a result of their population size and workforce size.
  • A few middle-sized states, such as Indiana, Colorado, and Kentucky, have low but noticeable age discrimination cases of about 450 to 700. This range shows that there exists age discrimination problems that are capable of even outside the highest and lowest population brackets.
  • All the available data indicates, however, that there are clear geographic distributions and that states with larger populations tend to report more claims, which may be related to the number and heterogeneity of the workforce as well as to sectors of the economy that may operate locally and have effects on older employees.
  • Moreover, it is also possible that such differences in the number of claims reflect different levels of discrimination claim consciousness and ability across the states.

Discrimination By Type

DISCRIMINATION CLAIMS In The United States By Type 2019-2020(Source: enterpriseappstoday.com)

  • Employment discrimination statistics reveal that discrimination based on Retaliation, race, gender, and disability constitutes around 30% of all charges filed, with most of them being retaliation claims comprising 56%.
  • The other major types include disability discrimination, which stands at 36.1%, race at 32.7% and gender at 31.7%.
  • Retaliation claims, in particular, are on the high side, with about 37,632 claims reported in 2020.
  • For example, an employee who takes part in an investigation that is conducted in the organization and is later demoted or terminated will be viewed as a victim of retaliation.
  • The most frequent discrimination allegations are race and handicap, with, respectively, around 22,064 and 24,324 cases lodged.
  • Nonetheless, while pay equity is a common debate, it represents only 1.5% of reports made, to a great extent, because organizations do not discuss salaries openly.
  • Claims under the Equal Pay Act, of which there are about 980, and claims due to religious reasons, of which there are approximately 2,404, are also relatively rare.
  • All of these types of claims are present but have the least reports filed in the year 2020, which stands at approximately 440.
  • Genetic information discrimination happens when there is adverse treatment of employees because of their genetic tendency to develop certain diseases, often driven by the fear of incurring high medical costs.

Employment Discrimination In US

SELF-REPORTED EMPLOYEMENT DISCRIMINATION IN THE U.S.(Reference: zippia.com)

  • Employment discrimination statistics indicate that many workers, around 33% of American employees, have experienced discrimination based on sexual orientation.
  • Although this number is lower when compared to the cases of discrimination based on gender, race or even age, it is, however, important to note that approximately 7% of the United States workforce identifies themselves as LGBTQ+, meaning that sexual orientation discrimination could be more prevalent than it is perceived.
  • Ageism is the type of discrimination that is reported more frequently in the United States than any other, with figures of 45% of Americans depicting that they have been victims of ageism.
  • Younger workers tend to face discrimination from seniors, whereas benefits those seniors usually enjoy are enhanced, in most cases excluding women and other young upcoming workers or interns who sometimes suffer more harassment.
  • Other to discrimination remain also, 42% of the American populace reported being discriminated against based on sex or ethnicity.
  • In addition, 61% of the employed population in the United States has experienced or witnessed discrimination in the workplace, which is way beyond the figures available for countries like Germany and France, where only 37% and 43% of the respondents respectively reported discrimination in the workplace.

Employment Discrimination By Region

State
# Of Complaints Per 100000 Individuals
Mississippi60
Alabama62
Georgia50
Arkansas51
Tennessee44
New Mexico48
North Carolina42
Indiana41
Louisiana39
Illinois39
Nevada38
Maryland38
Virginia35
Oklahoma34
Florida34
Arizona34
Colorado33
Pennsylvania33
Missouri33
Texas31
Kansas25
Michigan25
South Carolina24
Ohio24
Hawaii22
New York19
Kentucky21
New Jersey18
Wisconsin17
Minnasota17
Delaware17
California16
Washington16
Alaska12
North Dakota8
Wyoming9
Utah7
West Virginia7
Connecticut7
Massachusetts6
South Dakota6
Iowa5
Vermont5
Oregon5
Rhode Island5
New Hampshire4
Idaho4
Nebraska4
Maine2
Montana2

(Source: enterpriseappstoday.com)

  • Employment discrimination statistics state that, as of now, there are 17 states with any restrictions on discrimination laws.
  • The Midwest and South of the country tend to have fewer policies in place, whereas the West Coast and Northeast regions provide stronger policies.
  • With five national origin-based discrimination per 100,000 persons, New Mexico has the highest incidence of such complaints in the nation.
  • However, even with the information above, it can be stated that New Mexico recorded a decreased high of 68.9% concerning such discrimination claims during the years 2009 and 2018.
  • After New Mexico, three discriminatory practices per one hundred thousand are reported by immigrants in the heavily populated states of Florida and Colorado.
  • This is the highest discrimination claims rate, about 62.2 per 100,000 people in the United States, which is recorded in Alabama. Other Southern states such as Georgia (50.3), Arkansas (51.7), and Mississippi (60.8) exhibit very high discrimination rates as well, indicating it’s a national problem.
  • Because of this, Michigan is the only state that has ever tried to outlaw weight discrimination. Despite high rates of obesity—an increase of 27.5% in the last years—49 states have not yet implemented measures to protect workers from the effects of weight-based discrimination.
  • According to employment discrimination statistics, Maine has the lowest level of reported discrimination at just 2.5 per 100,000, which is approximately 25 times less than Alabama. Relatively low rates are also observed in states like Nebraska (4.3), Idaho (4.3), New Hampshire (4.0), and Montana (2.6).
  • Though such states are found in different regions, most are characterized by sparse populations. There was a notable surge in the number of filed sex discrimination cases by 166.7% in Florida.
  • A raise in Massachusetts of 108.7% was also significant, while Idaho had the most notable figure in this instance – a decrease of 55.9%. Equal pay discrimination complaints in Michigan increased by 163.6%.
  • The next in line was head Maryland with 123.1%. On the contrary, New Mexico had a contrast where the number of equal pay claims was reduced by almost half.
  • Equal pay laws are present in 48 states; the only states that do not have them are South Carolina, Wisconsin, Utah, and North Carolina. In some of these states, however, there are still comprehensive employment laws focused on addressing discrimination-based pay asymmetries.

Employment Discrimination By Projections And Trends

  • While addressing discrimination complaints, the surface has seen a decline in the US, and it is quite evident that workplace equity has yet to be fully realized.
  • Such insights are important to forecast the future of employment discrimination over time and space.
  • In 2020 alone, EEOC registered about 67,448 discrimination complaints. This is a constant downward trend as 76,418 were lodged in 2018 and around 72.675 in 2019, showing an annual average reduction of over 3000 to 5000 cases per year.
  • However, one notable aspect of the EEOC services is the increase in genetic information claims, which grew by 133.3% from 2019 to 2020. It is worth noting that these complaints constituted only 0.7% of all discrimination claims filed in 2020. However, the growth was considerable with 2019, as this figure was 0.3% out of total claims.
  • In regard to discrimination complaints, their number has decreased overall by 5-8% every year, a 5.1% decrease between 2018 and 2019 and a bigger 7.75% drop from 2019 to 2020; employment discrimination statistics indicate that strides are being made towards gender equity in the workplace.
  • Retaliation claims, however, paint a different picture; in fact, the last report established that the number of retaliation complaints had risen sharply by 146.9% in the period of 1997-2020.
  • Retaliation accounted for 22.6% of total complaints in 1997, but this figure has increased so that it is the most prevalent complaint type, consisting of 56% of all complaints currently.
  • Further examination of the issue of workplace discrimination along demographic lines shows even wider inequalities. A large number of young employees aged 18-34 report experiencing workplace discrimination, and 52% of them are affirmative of the claim.
  • About 33% of the older workers aged 55+ also report that ageism is prevalent in their workplaces. Workplace discrimination is also compounded by race and ethnicity. In the past 12 months, 24% of both Hispanic and Black respondents were discriminated against in a way that was only experienced by 15% of White respondents, while the overall rate stood at 18%.
  • Challenges of gender discrimination in STEM professions that require high skills are still prevailing since 50% of women occupying such positions have experienced gender discrimination.
  • Although almost half of employment opportunities in the United States are in STEM areas, 27% of them are women represented in the workforce.
  • They particularly pose a high risk to women with postgraduate studies, 62% of whom said they were unfairly treated, probably because these professions are dominated by men.

Conclusion

Employment discrimination statistics is a notable issue in today’s society, with the rise in awareness and the enactment of federal and state laws addressing the issue. Since 1997 over 1.8 million charges have been filed, and luckily, every year, the number of those cases has been steadily decreasing. However, despite these achievements, discrimination is still a major concern as it cuts across all demographics in different places.

For instance, women, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community, together with both young and older workers, are still subjected to threats over their earnings, employment, and dignity at work due to discrimination. However, as case-cause populations increase and awareness progresses along with a noticeable reduction in case numbers, we hope the changes will culminate in a better working environment for all.

FAQ.

What is the impact of workplace discrimination on the world economy?

Workplace discrimination has an adverse impact on the global economy, which is evaluated to cause a loss of $320 billion every year. This figure includes losses resulting from reduced levels of output, costs incurred in litigation, turnover of employees, and other related costs incurred as a result of discrimination.

Which types of workplace discrimination are most common in the United States?

Retaliation is the most common type of workplace discrimination, accounting for 56% of all claims. Other forms that are reported in a lot of instances include disability (36.1%), race (32.7%) and gender discrimination (31.7%). Retaliation claims themselves have also increased significantly, increasing by 146.9% between 1999 and 2020.

How does age discrimination vary across different U.S. states?

There are age discrimination case filings mainly in the developed and more populous state economies. This is seen when California and Texas filed over 1400 cases each, followed by Florida and New York. On the contrary, other developed states with small populations, such as Vermont, North Dakota, and South Dakota, have filed very minimal age discrimination cases.

How can the recent trends in employment discrimination complaints be interpreted?

In general, employment discrimination complaints have been on a downward trend, with an annual decrease of 5-8% from 2018-2020. Nonetheless, some categories of complaints, such as retaliation cases, have risen, indicating persistent barriers to creating just working spaces for all.

How do various social strata experience discrimination in workplaces?

A different demographic group faces discrimination differently. For instance, while approximately 33% of employees who are LGBTQ+ claim that they have suffered discrimination, 45% of American citizens are subjected to age discrimination. There have also been some studies that show that 52% of individuals aged 18-34 and 24% of Latinos and Blacks have experienced discrimination, showing the problem in different strata.

Maitrayee Dey
Maitrayee Dey

Maitrayee, after completing her graduation in Electrical Engineering, transitioned into the world of writing following a series of technical roles. She specializes in technology and Artificial Intelligence, bringing her experience as an Academic Research Analyst and Freelance Writer, with a focus on education and healthcare under the Australian system. From an early age, writing and painting have been her passions, leading her to pursue a full-time career in writing. In addition to her professional endeavors, Maitrayee also manages a YouTube channel dedicated to cooking.

More Posts By Maitrayee Dey