Who Faces the Most Discrimination at Work?

Trump’s EEOC is pivoting away from historically marginalized groups. Instead, they have spent considerable resources encouraging white male employees to sue for discrimination. One such expenditure was a video message from Trump’s EEOC Chair, Andrea Lucas, stating “Are you a white male who has experienced discrimination at work based on your race or sex? You may have a claim to recover money under federal civil rights laws. Contact the EEOC as soon as possible.”

This sounds more like a local ad for a private law firm, but it’s a real PSA from the EEOC, funded entirely by taxpayers. It’s an unusual move. According to former EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum, “[The] EEOC doesn’t go out looking for discrimination. It’s there to be responsive to charges that come in.”

That didn’t stop the Vice President, JD Vance, from resharing the video. He also claimed in another post that diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives are “discrimination primarily against white men.”

That may sound silly to anyone who has any experience in discrimination claims. Of course white men can and do experience discrimination—nothing in this article claims they do not—but the instances of race-based discrimination against this group are exceedingly rare compared to other demographics.

Whiteness is a Better Predictor of Getting a Job Offer Than Experience or Education

In a sweeping meta-study ranging from 1989 to 2017, researchers found simply being white, or even using a white-sounding name, resulted in more job opportunities. That study occurred over 28 field experiments, tracked 55,842 applications for 26,326 jobs, and made the following findings:

• White applicants received 36% more callbacks than equally qualified Black applicants.

• White applicants received 24% more callbacks than equally qualified Latino applicants.

The correlation is undeniable. Being white was a better predictor of receiving a job opportunity than experience or education.

Sexual Harassment and Race Discrimination Have a Troubling Correlation

Another troubling trend emerges when we discuss sexual harassment. Multiple claims can be submitted in a single charge. Which means a claim of race-based discrimination can accompany a claim of sexual harassment. This was the case in a bombshell lawsuit brought by Robynn Europe, a Black woman, who won an $11 million jury verdict against Equinox for claims of race and sex-based discrimination. But while Europe’s large jury verdict was a bit of an outlier, the discrimination she faced was not.

Between 2018 and 2021, charges of sexual harassment, which also included charges of race discrimination, overwhelmingly affected Black employees.

White Employees Face Discrimination Too, But Usually Not Because of Race

That does not mean white employees do not ever face discrimination. It means the answer to the question “Do white employees face more discrimination than other races?” is a clear NO. White employees do experience discrimination at work, but their race is less likely to be a motivating factor. More often, they will face discrimination due to another protected characteristic they possess (such as pregnancy). And as I will demonstrate in a few paragraphs, being white actually makes you less likely to face discrimination for other non-racial characteristics.

It’s notable that Trump’s EEOC Chair, Andrea Lucas, had prior experience working for an employment litigation firm which specialized in fighting against claims of discrimination (we can think of this as an “anti-workers’ rights firm”). So, she should know the data as well as any other lawyer in the space. She should also know that fixating on the least-affected group at the expense of more-affected groups is a misuse of resources. Still, since being placed in charge of the EEOC, she has abandoned charges of LGBTQ+ discrimination—choosing instead to focus on soliciting charges of discrimination from white men.

The Trump Administration Has Deleted or Altered Significant Data Sets

If we want to answer the question “who gets discriminated against the most?” it is inherently a data-focused answer. That can be a bit of a problem in 2026.

Unfortunately, the Trump administration has taken a proverbial chainsaw to the federal government’s knowledge base. Trump’s agents have altered nearly 400 federal data sets. Of those, many have been deleted entirely. The EEOC, for example, has multiple missing pages, broken links, and deleted data.

Here is one example of a broken link about pregnancy discrimination: https://www.eeoc.gov/data/pregnancy-discrimination-charges-fy-2010-fy-2022

And another example of a missing race-based discrimination data set: https://www.eeoc.gov/data/race-based-charges-charges-filed-eeoc-fy-1997-fy-2022

These are public records, and it is supposed to be illegal to tamper with them like this. But that’s for another article.

Fortunately, we have a workaround. We will supplement the federal reporting archives in other locations, including some private data, and a touch of input from Centurion Trial Attorneys (my workers’ rights law firm).

At a bird’s-eye view, here is a snapshot, but don’t get too focused on broad titles like “retaliation” and “sex discrimination” because there is more to the story.

“Retaliation” is the Most Commonly Reported Discrimination Charge

Data sets that track employment discrimination claims have one goofy quirk you need to know about—most add up to over 100%.

This isn’t because lawyers are bad at math (we are, but it’s not the reason for the anomaly). It is because most charges of discrimination include multiple claims. This is why the phrase “most commonly reported discrimination charge” matters.

For example, an employee who files a claim for being fired after requesting pregnancy leave would rightfully file a claim for (1) Pregnancy discrimination, (2) Sex Discrimination, and (3) Retaliation. In another example, a disabled employee who is demoted for requesting accommodations can rightfully file a claim for (1) Disability discrimination and (2) Retaliation. In another case, let’s say an applicant is fired after reporting their boss for making lewd jokes about his marriage to another man. That employee has a claim for (1) Sex Discrimination and (2) Retaliation.

See the trend here?

In all three of these examples, retaliation comes up as a data point. Which is why most data you find will include “retaliation” as the most common form of discrimination.

But that is a bit misleading. Retaliation is when you are punished for doing something you had a legally protected right to do. From our previous examples, that includes (1) requesting pregnancy leave, (2) requesting accommodations for disabilities, and (3) reporting a manager for harassment.

An employer who slaps you with discipline, a demotion, termination, or other adverse employment action, could therefore face liability for retaliation under state and federal law.

Pregnancy Discrimination Is a Sleeper Statistic – But It is Among the Most Commonly Encountered Types of Discrimination.

Pregnancy discrimination is what I call a “sleeper statistic.” Looking at the EEOC litigation reports (what’s left of them at least) tells only half the story. At first glance, pregnancy discrimination doesn’t appear very common. The EEOC reported statutory pregnancy accommodation claims—those focused on enforcement of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA)—as only 3.9% of total cases in 2025. That doesn’t mean only 3.9% of claims were for pregnancy, it means PWFA enforcement claims made up 3.9% of all charges.

That’s a statistical trap.

In practice, pregnancy discrimination claims necessarily should include a charge for sex-based discrimination. Which means each pregnancy charge contributes to the sex-discrimination tally.

But like retaliation claims, pregnancy tends to walk hand-in-hand with other charges. For example, a charge of discrimination based on sex or disability will often include a pregnancy claim. That’s what makes it a “sleeper statistic”—it can hide within other statistics, and that results in pregnancy claims appearing less common than they are.

For example, although white employees report the majority of pregnancy discrimination claims, people of color are substantially more likely to face pregnancy discrimination than white employees.

In a study by the Center for Employment Equity, People of Color make up the highest share of pregnancy discrimination charges relative to their representation in the workforce. In English, that means each Person of Color is more likely to encounter pregnancy discrimination than each white counterpart, even though they make up a smaller percentage of the workforce.

In addition to the dual impact of race and multiple charges, there is another anomaly that needs to be addressed.

What’s reported and what’s commonly encountered may not be the same thing. To provide an anecdotal example, in our workers’ rights practice, we find pregnancy-based discrimination is the most frequently encountered form of discrimination. In other words, we find that pregnancy discrimination is the most common shared form of discrimination across all races and all multi-charge incidents.

Before anyone nerd-rages on me, I understand the relative weakness of anecdotal evidence, even in a relatively large sample size such as my law firm’s historic caseload. I decided to reference anecdotal evidence because we can only address discrimination that is reported—but approximately 90% of people who experience workplace harassment never make a formal report.^[1]

The lack of reporting is primarily because of fear. Most workers don’t realize what their options are when faced with discrimination at work. Remember that reports of harassment or discrimination are protected by state and federal law. If you are punished for making a good faith report of discrimination, then you may be able to add retaliation to the list of charges.

Why are Pregnant Workers Frequently Targeted?

The reasons for pregnancy-based harassment and discrimination vary, but none are acceptable. In our interviews with employers, managers, and human resources representatives who engaged in such discrimination, a common pattern emerged. Here are some of the reasons pregnant workers face more discrimination than other workers:

• They are unfairly perceived as less reliable due to doctor’s visits and medical needs.

• Employers don’t want to “deal with” accommodations for pregnant workers.

• Some bosses hold discriminatory views against working mothers, unfairly perceiving them as “less committed to their careers.”

• Employers may be intimidated by state and federal family leave laws, so they panic and try to avoid giving leave altogether.

• Employers do not want to see an interruption to operations, such as hiring a temporary worker to cover for a pregnant worker on leave.

• Sometimes, it’s just plain old bigotry. We were surprised in a few frank interviews where employers unabashedly claimed they simply don’t like having women, especially pregnant women, in certain roles.

None of these are acceptable or legal reasons. But all of them illustrate an important fact—workers must learn their rights and document their protected activities at work. If something feels off, they should report the discrimination in writing and keep copies for themselves.

Other helpful resources for protected pregnant workers include Get It in Writing: The Ultimate Guide to Your Rights at Work, written by Attorney Ryan Stygar.

^[1] Lilia M. Cortina and Jennifer L. Berdahl, Sexual Harassment in Organizations: A Decade of Research in Review, 1 The Sage Handbook of Organizational Behavior 469, 469-96 (J. Barling & C. L. Cooper eds., 2008).

If you believe you have been treated differently at work because of your race, sex, age, disability, religion, pregnancy, or another protected characteristic, our attorneys handle workplace discrimination and civil rights claims for employees across California. Your case evaluation is free and confidential.

Related reading: a jury hit Walmart with $125 million for disability discrimination, and a 1991 law reduced it to $300,000.