Texas is in the middle of the pack for the proportional number of sexual harassment and discrimination charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) from 2014-2018. The highest number of EEOC charges were filed in Texas because it is the second-largest state in the U.S. However, Texas ranks 21st out of 50 states when the number of charges is divided by the number of residents. Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia are the three states with the highest proportional number of EEOC sex charges.

2014-2018 Average Number of EEOC Sex Charges Per 100,000 Residents

The southern region of the United States contains a cluster of states with a higher proportional number of EEOC charges. Notably, there is a strong correlation between states with a higher number of race charges and states with a higher number of sex charges. The states with the highest proportional number of EEOC charges, Alabama, Georgia, and Mississipi, are the only states that do not have state laws addressing race or sex discrimination for private employers. Although Georgia has an equal pay law, and Alabama recently passed an equal pay law that will go into effect on August 2019.

Without more information, it is difficult to determine whether these states have a higher number of EEOC charges because there is more gender discrimination or because employees do not have any recourse to a state-law remedy for gender discrimination. The reality may be a result of both problems. The inability to put anti-discrimination laws on the books may be a consequence of a culture that does not value equal opportunities for women. A 2019 study commissioned by Wallethub showed that the same southern states are also among the worst states for women’s social well-being and safety.

Texas has a state law remedy for gender discrimination, but it offers no more protection than the Federal law. The states with the lowest number of EEOC sex charges have laws that are much broader than Texas’s. For instance, California is the only state in the country more populous than Texas, but it has an average of 40% fewer EEOC charges per year. California’s anti-discrimination law has a longer statute of limitations than Texas’s law, which gives California employees more time to file a complaint. California also has a smaller employee minimum requirement, which extends protections to employees of smaller companies.

Recently, the Texas legislature proposed a bill to decrease Texas’s employee minimum requirement, but it failed to pass before the end of the legislative session. If Texas wants to compete with California when it comes to gender equality in the workplace, Texas legislators will need to push for stronger state anti-discrimination laws in the 2021 legislative session.

If you would like additional information about the data used in this article, please e-mail us at lfigaro@metooreporter.com.

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