Workplace Discrimination
ISSUE STATEMENT
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Employment serves as a major vehicle for the distribution of income and most other essential material social
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benefits, such as health insurance, public and private retirement plans, and disability insurance, as well as many
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nonmaterial benefits, such as status and prestige. Because of the inherent power associated with employment, it is
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essential that NASW continues to work to end discrimination in the workplace and to enhance access to gainful
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employment for all.
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Discriminatory workplace policies and practices limit opportunities for job attainment, career mobility and equal
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participation in organizational leadership. These forms of discrimination interact with wage discrimination to
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negatively affect lifetime earnings, benefits, occupations, and personal and household income.
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Discrimination—unequal treatment of persons, for a reason which has nothing to do with legal rights or ability
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(Law.Com, n.d.)—continues to be pervasive in modern American life. The social work profession has long been
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concerned with working to eliminate discrimination in all forms. This commitment is embodied in the Code of
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Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW, 2008) and informs the major policies that NASW
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supports. Discrimination based on age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion,
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national origin, immigrant status, disability and other axes of difference, has a significant and pernicious impact
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on the lives of the clients that the social work profession serves as well as on the members of the social work
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profession themselves.
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Discrimination unduly affects a variety of employable citizens in the workplace. Discrimination can occur at
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every stage of the employment process, from interviewing, hiring, training, promotion and compensation to
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retention and separation. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), created in 1964, enforces
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statutes that make it illegal to discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on the basis of race,
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color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or age. It also provides federal protections from discrimination on
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other bases, including status as a parent, marital status, political affiliation, and conduct that does not adversely
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affect the performance of the employee.
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Far too many people confront difficulty in their quests to realize their career goals and support themselves
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financially. In the first decade of the new millennium, there were nearly 150,000 charges of sexual harassment
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filed with the EEOC and the state and local Fair Employment Practices agencies across the country (EEOCa,
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n.d.). In 2012, nearly 100,000 complaints of discrimination were filed with the U.S. Equal Employment
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Opportunity Commission (EEOCb, n.d.) and complainants received more than $365 million in monetary benefits
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(EEOCc, n.d.). In 2012, charges of discrimination based on race accounted for 33.7% of all complaints filed
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with the EEOC, followed by charges of discrimination based on gender (30.5%), disability (26.5%) and age
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(23%) (EEOCa, n.d.). Complaints were also filed on the basis of national origin (10.9%), religion (3.8%), color
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(2.7%) and compensation (1.1%) (EEOCa, n.d.). In addition, 208 cases were filed with the EEOC charging
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discrimination based on genetic information (EEOCa, n.d.) New manifestations of discriminatory behavior
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based on body size (Judge & Cabel, 2011; Puhl, Andreyeva, & Brownell, 2008) and credit worthiness (NY Times,
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2013; Traub, 2012) are also being reported in the workplace. In addition, verbal slurs, graffiti, bullying, sexual
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harassment, and other forms of offensive conduct have become more pervasive in the workplace and are often
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rooted in prejudices against people based on differences (Sallee & Diaz, 2012: Workplace Bullying Institute,
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2010).
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Despite federal and state civil rights legislation, affirmative action programs, and other legislative and policy
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efforts to reduce these differences in the past several decades, workplace discrimination persists.
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POLICY STATEMENT
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Given the persistence and pervasiveness of workplace discrimination, NASW supports:
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enforcement of all laws and regulations that forbid discrimination in the workplace, including adequate
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funding for the federal and state agencies charged with the enforcement of civil rights and
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antidiscrimination laws and regulations, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
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employment discrimination.
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federal and state legislative measures that aim to eliminate discrimination in employment, training,
compensation, and job-related benefits.
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workers’ efforts to organize as a means to promote progressive employment policies and address
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public and private affirmative action programs that aim to ensure that people from historically oppressed
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populations and women have access to employment, opportunities for advancement, nondiscriminatory
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working conditions, and fair compensation.
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undocumented workers.
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equal opportunities for all people to access and complete their education in non-discriminatory and
non-hostile environments to further full participation in the workforce.
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compliance with Americans With Disabilities (ADA) regulations to assure that persons with disabilities
have equal access to employment, promotion and job satisfaction.
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adoption of federal and state measures that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender
identity, marital and family status.
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human and civil rights measures to protect all Americans, including lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender,
and intersex people from discrimination in the workplace.
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federal and state measures that promote and protect legal employment opportunities for immigrants and
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maintenance and expansion of the social safety net and work supports (e.g., child care subsidy, universal
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health care, paid parental or caregiver leave, etc.), that support full access to and participation in the
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workforce.
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adoption of federal and state measures that prohibit discrimination based on reproductive choices.
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adoption of the Equal Rights Amendment.
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References
Judge, T.A. & Cable, D.M. (2011). When it comes to pay, do the thin win? The effect of weight on pay for
men and women. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96 (1), 95-112 DOI: 10.1037/a0020860
Law.Com. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=532)
National Association of Social Workers. (2008). Code of ethics for the National Association of Social Workers.
Washington, DC: NASW Press.
New York Times Editorial Board. (April 22, 2013). Credit history discrimination. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/opinion/credit-history-discrimination.html?_r=0
Puhl, RM, Andreyeva, T., & Brownell, K.D. (2008). Perceptions of weight discrimination: Prevalence and
comparison to race and gender discrimination in America, International Journal of Obesity, 32, 992-1000.
Sallee, M.W. & Diaz, C.R. (2012). Sexual harassment, racist jokes, and homophobic slurs: When bullies target
identity groups. In Lester, J. (Ed.) Workplace bullying in higher education (41-59). New York: Routledge.
Traub, A. (February 7, 2012). Ending unjust employment credit checks. Retrieved from
http://www.demos.org/publication/ending-unjust-employment-credit-checks
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (a). (n.d.) Sexual Harassment Charges. EEOC & FEPAs
Combined: FY 1997 through FY 2011. Retrieved from
http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/sexual_harassment.cfm
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (b). (n.d.) Charge statistics (National FY 1997 through FY
2012.) Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/charges.cfm
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (c). (n.d.) All statutes (FY 1997 through FY 2012.) Retrieved
from
http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/all.cfmhttp://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/all.cf
m
Workplace Bullying Institute. (2010). Race & workplace bullying: 2010 WBI survey. Retrieved from
http://www.workplacebullying.org/2010/09/06/race_2010_wbi/