work trends 020107

held

rich

Americans’ Attitudes About Work, Employers and Government

Work Trends

A Workplace Divided: How Americans View

Discrimination and Race on the Job

A Joint Project with:Center for Survey Research and

Analysis University of Connecticut

January 2002

John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce DevelopmentRutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Americans’ Attitudes About Work, Employers and Government

Work Trends

A Workplace Divided: How Americans View

Discrimination and Raceon the Job

January 2002

A Joint Project with:

Center for Survey Research and AnalysisUniversity of Connecticut

John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce DevelopmentRutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Embargoed for Release:January 17, 2002, 12:01AM, ET

Project directed by Carl E. Van Horn, Ph.D. director and professor, John J. Heldrich Center

andKenneth E. Dautrich, Ph.D., director

Center for Survey Research and Analysis

Report written by K.A. Dixon, Duke Storen, and Carl E. Van Horn

Table of Contents

Background

1. Overview and Summary 1

Section 1: Profile of Companies 5

Section 2: Worker Perceptions of Discriminationin the Workplace: Who Is Treated Unfairly? 7

Section 3: Personal Experiences with Discriminationin the Workplace 11

Section 4: What Actions Should Employers Take 17

Section 5: Economic Questions 23

Conclusion 27

Appendix 1: Methodology29

Appendix 2: Survey Results30

Heldrich Work Trends Survey, v.3.3: winter ‘02

Background

The John J. Heldrich Center forWorkforce DevelopmentThe John J. Heldrich Center for WorkforceDevelopment at the Edward J. BlousteinSchool of Planning & Public Policy atRutgers University was founded as aresearch and policy organization devoted tostrengthening New Jersey’s and the nation’sworkforce during a time of global economicchange. The Heldrich Center researches andputs to work strategies that increase workerskills and employability, strengthen the abil-ity of companies to compete, create jobswhere they are needed, and improve thequality and performance of the workforcedevelopment system.

The need to improve worker skills hasbecome a crosscutting issue in the informa-tion age. Whereas in the 1950s, six in tenworkers were unskilled, today, more than 60percent of the workforce is skilled and lessthan 20 percent unskilled. According toCoopers and Lybrand, in 1997 nearly 70percent of growth company CEOs pointedto the lack of skilled workers as the numberone barrier to growth—a figure that haddoubled since 1993. Despite the need, U.S.investment in workforce education andtraining trails other leading democracies.

The transformation to a new economydriven by knowledge and its application hasthrust workforce investment strategy to theforefront of domestic policy. In globallycompetitive labor markets, workers who lackbasic skills and literacy are in greater dangerthan ever before. Urban planning and rede-velopment strategies cannot ignore the roleof education and work skills in preparingyoung adults to compete for new jobs in theemerging service, retail, and technology sec-tors. Similarly, the nation’s long debate over

public school reform must acknowledge thatour nation’s “forgotten half” of young peoplenot attending college need help now toaccess the economic and social mainstream.

While workers with skills and the deter-mination to keep them sharp are in heavydemand, huge numbers of adults still cannotread, write, or perform basic math functionseffectively. A fifth of working Americanshave a zero or minimal literacy level in read-ing and math. Job seekers and young peopleentering the workforce need solid literacyand numeracy skills, and they need to usethem to acquire the job-specific and career-building skills that will give them access togood jobs.

The Heldrich Center is the first univer-sity-based organization devoted to trans-forming the workforce development systemat the local, state, and federal levels. Weidentify best practices and areas where gov-ernment performance should be improved,and provide professional training and devel-opment to the community of professionalsand managers who run the system and areresponsible for making it work. The Centerprovides an independent source of analysisfor reform and innovation in policy makingand is engaged in significant partnershipswith the private sector to design effectiveeducation and training programs.

The transformation to a new economy driven by

knowledge and its application has thrust work-

force investment strategy to the forefront of

domestic policy.

Heldrich Work Trends Survey, v.3.3: winter ‘02

The Center for Survey Researchand AnalysisTwo years ago, the University ofConnecticut announced the formation of its new Center for Survey Research andAnalysis (CSRA), thus strengthening itsfocus on conducting original surveyresearch. The Center is an outgrowth of the tremendous success of original surveyresearch conducted under the aegis of theRoper Center/Institute for Social Inquiry.For twenty years, Roper Center/ISI had conducted high quality, high profile originalresearch; this tradition is being continuedand expanded.

The Center, a nonprofit, non-partisanresearch and educational facility, is a leaderin conducting important public opinionresearch in the public and private sectors.CSRA staff have completed more than 300survey projects, for a wide variety of clients,in the twenty years of survey research atUConn.

The Center for Survey Research andAnalysis has extensive experience in survey-ing special populations, including studies ofMembers of Congress, journalists, business

owners and managers, parents, teen-agers,college seniors, and university faculty.

In addition to quantitative research,CSRA also conducts in-depth qualitativeresearch, including nationwide focus groups,one-on-one interviewing, and case studies.The staff has worked with clients to developstrong secondary research programs in support of on-going research in a variety offields. Expert statisticians are also availablefor additional analysis of original and sec-ondary data.

CSRA strictly adheres to the code ofethics published by the AmericanAssociation of Public Opinion Research,which, among other things, requires us tofully divulge our research methods, treat allrespondents with respect and honesty, andinsure that our results are not presented in a distorted or misleading manner.

During the past three years staff nowaffiliated with CSRA have conducted morethan seventy national, regional and local survey projects.

To better understand the public’s attitudesabout work, employers and the government,and improve workplace practices and policy,the Heldrich Center and the CSRA producethe Work Trends survey on a quarterly basis.The survey polls the general public on criti-cal workforce issues facing Americans andAmerican businesses, and promotes the sur-vey’s findings widely to the media andnational constituencies.

To better understand the public’s attitudes about

work, employers and the government, and improve

workplace practices and policy, the Heldrich

Center and the CSRA produce the Work Trends

Survey on a quarterly basis.

Download series reports free atwww.heldrich.rutgers.edu

This report is the ninth survey in the WorkTrends series that polls American workersabout issues affecting their lives in the econ-omy, the workforce, and the workplace, andhow workers view the policy choices madeby employers and lawmakers to addresstheir concerns. The project was founded in1998 and is co-directed by the John J.Heldrich Center for WorkforceDevelopment at Rutgers, and the Center forSurvey Research and Analysis at theUniversity of Connecticut.

In this new report, A Workplace Divided:How Americans View Discrimination and Raceon the Job, American workers express theirviews on the contentious issue of discrimina-tion in the workplace—how they perceiveand experience discrimination, as well aswhat they expect government and employersto do about it. In this survey, workersdescribe two very different workplaces. Theworkplace described by the white worker isone where equitable treatment is accordedto all, few personally experience discrimina-tion, and few offer strong support for poli-cies such as affirmative action to correctpast discrimination against African-American and other minority workers. Instark contrast, the workplace of non-whiteworkers is one where the perception ofunfair treatment is significantly more pro-nounced, where many employment policiessuch as hiring and promotion are perceivedas unfair to African-American workers, andwhere support for corrective action is high.These workers expect that employers shouldplay an active role in creating a more equi-table workplace.

The average American worker spendsover 40 hours per week at work. Ideally,this time is spent in an equitable workplacethat is conducive to worker productivity,morale and safety, and provides all workerswith equal opportunity for satisfaction andadvancement. Work Trends: A Workplace

Divided demonstrates that for many work-ers—particularly African- and Hispanic-American workers—such an equitableworkplace has proved elusive. According tothe Equal Employment OpportunityCommission (EEOC), employee complaintsof discrimination and racial harassment inthe workplace have increased significantly inthe last ten years, from a little more than3,000 per year in 1991, to almost 9,000 in2000. At the same time, employee chargesof retaliation for complaints about discrimi-nation and racism have increased, as havedamage awards to employees in EEOC law-suits involving race-based charges. Clearly,despite an increasingly diverse society, dis-crimination remains a major concern formany workers. Almost forty years since thepassage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 thatmandated legal equality for minorities, raceremains a major barrier among Americans inthe workplace, both in how people perceiveand experience discrimination, and whatthey want done about it.

A Workplace Divided reveals that manyAmericans do not believe that they or theircolleagues are the victims of unfair treat-ment, with white workers far more likelythan workers of other races to believe thateveryone is treated fairly at work. However,further analysis makes clear that race is themost significant determinant in how peopleperceive and experience discrimination inthe workplace, as well as what they believe

Heldrich Work Trends Survey, v.3.3: winter ‘02 1

1. Overview and Summary

In this new report, A Workplace Divided: How

Americans View Discrimination and Race on the

Job, American workers express their views on the

contentious issue of discrimination in the work-

place—how they perceive and experience discrim-

ination, as well as what they expect government

and employers to do about it.

employers should do to address such inci-dences and attitudes. Indeed, the racialdivide in the American workplace is morepowerful an indicator of opinion thanincome or education. Doing well does notease the sense of discrimination. Our surveyshows that more than half (56%) of higherincome non-white workers believe thatAfrican-Americans are the most likely toexperience discrimination, compared to only33% of whites in the same income group.

Among higher and lower income African-Americans, there is very little difference inthe perception of discrimination in the work-place. Other findings include:

� Many Americans work in ethnically homogenous environments. The survey finds that almost one-third (31%) of workers indicate that their workplace does not employ any African-American workers, while 34% indicate that they do not work with any Hispanic workers. Among white workers, these figures rise significantly (37% and 41%, respectively), and drop among non-white workers (20% and 22%). Thirty-seven percent of white workers have no African-American co-workers and 41% have no Hispanic co-workers.

� A racial divide is found between small and

large companies, and within large compa-nies, in that the smaller the company, the less likely it is that African- and Hispanic-Americans are among the employees. Almost two-thirds (64%) of those who work at a company that employs less than 25 people say that they do not work with any African-Americans, while 60% say they do not work with any Hispanic-Americans. In contrast, at companies that employ 250 or more people, only 8% say they have no African-American col-leagues, and 15% say they do not work with any Hispanic-Americans.

� White workers are much less influenced bythe diversity of their company than non-white workers. For instance, regardless of whether they have African-American co-workers or not, only about one-third ofwhite workers agree that African-American workers are more likely to be treated unfairly. Conversely, 40% of non-white workers who do not have any African-American colleagues agree with this statement, compared to 62% of thosewhose company employs significant num-bers of African-Americans.

� African-American workers are far more likely than white workers or workers of other races to support the idea of prefer-ential treatment to address past discrimi-nation. Half (50%) of African-Americans agree with this kind of affirmative action, and 33% strongly agree. In stark con -trast, only 15% of white workers similarly agree, with only 4% voicing strong agreement for affirmative action.

� African-American workers and other minorities say they are more likely than white workers to say they have personally experienced discrimination in the work-place, although in general, relatively few workers report first-hand experience with discrimination.

� African-American workers are the least

2 Heldrich Work Trends Survey, v.3.3: winter ‘02

Indeed, the racial divide in the American work-

place is more powerful an indicator of opinion

than income or education. Doing well does

not ease the sense of discrimination. Our sur-

vey shows that more than half (56%) of higher

income non-white workers believe that African-

Americans are the most likely to experience

discrimination, compared to only 33% of

whites in the same income group.

satisfied with how seriously their employer regards discrimination in the workplace. The majority (86%) of white workers and almost three-fourths (74%) of workers of other races agree that their employer takes incidents of discrimina-tion in the workplace seriously, compared to 61% of African-American workers. Workers of all races are almost equally likely to say that their employer has clearly defined anti-discrimination policies.

� Workers employed at larger companies are more likely than those in smaller com-panies to say that their employer takes incidents of discrimination seriously and has a clearly defined discrimination policy, while workers in smaller compa-nies express more satisfaction with the way their employer responded to their complaint.

� When asked about certain employment practices—such as hiring and promo-tion—at their workplace as they impact African Americans, the majority of work-ers say that employment practices are notcarried out in a way that is unfair to African-Americans. However, in each instance, African-American and other non-white workers are more likely than white workers to say that employment practices are carried out in a way that is unfair.

� There is far more support among non-whites for laws mandating diversity in theworkplace than there is among white workers. Less than half (49%) of white workers agree that employers should be required by law to maintain a certain levelof diversity in the workplace. In stark contrast, 83% of African-Americans agreewith such a policy. Among all workers there is more support for the idea that thediversity among a company’s employees should reflect the diversity of the city in which it is located.

� Workers of all races believe that employ-ers and workers, not government, are primarily responsible for addressing discrimination in the workplace.


Less than half (49%) of white

workers agree that employers should be

required by law to maintain a certain level

of diversity in the workplace. In stark con-

trast, 83% of African-Americans agree with

such a policy.

Experiences and perceptions of discrimina-tion in the workplace vary among workersemployed by organizations of different sizesand with different purposes. In general,those working for large employers are morelikely to have non-white co-workers, believethat there are incidences of discrimination inthe workplace, and believe that employershave policies in place to address discrimina-tion. As indicated throughout the report,these differences are much more pro-nounced when comparing the experience ofworkers from organizations having onlywhite workers with those with colleaguesfrom different racial backgrounds. The fol-lowing profile of companies for whichrespondents work is based on approximately3,000 worker interviews conducted in thelast year as part of the Work Trends project.

Consistent with statistics from the U.S.Census Bureau’s Statistics of U.S. Business

1,

the Work Trends data show that more thanhalf of all workers are employed by organi-zations with 100 or more employees, with44% of workers employed by companieswith at least 250 workers. In looking atwhere non-white workers are employed,close to half (49%) are employed by organi-zations with 250 or more employees with12% employed by firms with 100-249employees, 17% working for organizationswith 25-99 employees, and 21% working inorganizations with 25 or fewer employees.More than half (52%) of non-white workersare employed by for-profit businesses,almost a quarter (24%) employed by government, 15% by not-for-profit organiza-tions, and only 8% of non-white workers are self-employed.


Section 1: Profile of Companies

1 U.S. Bureau of the Census, Statistics of U.S. Business, 1998. Data can be found athttp://www.census.gov/epcd/www/smallbus.html#EmpSize.

49%

12%

17%

21%

1%

250+

100-249

25-99

Less than 25

Other

Fig. 1-1: Where Non-White Workers are Employed, by Company Size

American workers do not have to personallyexperience discrimination in the workplaceto feel its impact. A person’s belief that heor she is more likely than others to be sin-gled out for unfair treatment because ofrace, ethnicity, or other characteristics canhave a negative impact on a worker’s moraleand productivity, as well as engender a dis-cordant working environment for all. As aresult, how workers perceive discriminationin the workplace can be as important asactual incidences of unfair treatment.

American workers express a range ofopinions regarding whom they believe aremost likely to be subjected to unfair treat-ment. Among those who think certaingroups are more likely than others to besubjected to unfair treatment, 21% say thatAfrican-Americans are the most likely toexperience discrimination, while 13% saythat Hispanic-American workers are themost likely to be treated in an unfair man-ner. Perhaps in reaction to the terroristattacks of September 11, almost one-fourth

(18%) of workers indicate that Arab-Americans are most likely to be treatedunfairly, and 12% say that Muslims (peopleof Islamic faith) are the most likely to expe-rience unfair treatment in the workplace.

Workers are less inclined to think that otherracial, ethnic, or minority groups such aspeople with disabilities, people who have dif-ficulty speaking English, and women aremost likely to be treated unfairly at work(3%, 5%, and 8%, respectively).


Section 2: Worker Perceptions of Discrimination inthe Workplace: Who Is Treated Unfairly?

Among those who think certain groups are more

likely than others to be subjected to unfair

treatment, 21% say that African-Americans are

the most likely to experience discrimination,

while 13% say that Hispanic-American workers

are the most likely to be treated in an unfair

manner.

21%

18%

13% 12%

8%

5%3% 3%

24%

Groups in the Workplace

African-Americans

Arab-Americans

Hispanic-Americans

Muslims

Women

Difficulty w/English

People w/Disabilities

Gays/Lesbians

No One

Fig. 2-1: Who is most likely to be treated unfairly in the workplace?

Half of African-American workers believethat African Americans are treated unfairlyin the workplace compared to 10% of whiteworkers, and 13% of workers from otherracial backgrounds. African-American work-ers are also less likely to believe that allworkers receive equal treatment with only11% of African-American workers holdingthis opinion compared to more than a quar-ter (27%) of white workers and 24% ofworkers from other racial backgrounds.Among workers of Hispanic origin, 22% saythat Hispanic-Americans are the most likelyto be the target of unfair treatment, whileonly 5% of non-Hispanic workers hold thisbelief.

When asked an open question regardingtheir opinion on who is most likely to betreated unfairly in the workplace, workersare most likely to identify African-Americans, Arab-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and Muslims as the most likelytargets of workplace discrimination. Whenasked about African- and Hispanic-American workers in particular, a signifi-cantly larger percent agree that these groupsof workers are most likely to be treatedunfairly in the workplace, with 39% believingAfrican-Americans are the most likely targetand 40% believing Hispanic-American work-

ers are the most likely target.While workers of different income and

education hold varying opinions as to whichof their co-workers they believe is mostlikely to be subject to unfair treatment atwork, race is the key determinant of howpeople perceive discrimination1. It does thisin two ways: first, many workers are likelyto work in racially homogenous workplaces,with no black or Hispanic co-workers; sec-ond, white workers are more likely than non-white workers to think that everyone istreated fairly in the workplace. In stark con-trast, more non-white workers than whiteworkers perceive that African- and Hispanic-Americans are most likely to be treatedunfairly in the workplace.

The survey finds that almost one-third(31%) of workers indicate that their work-place does not employ any African-Americanworkers, while 34% indicate that they do notwork with any Hispanic workers. Amongwhite workers, these figures rise significantly(37% and 41%, respectively), and dropamong non-white workers (20% and 22%).The fact that many white workers work in aracially homogenous environment may con-tribute to their perception that all workersare treated equally—they see no evidence tothe contrary.

8Heldrich Work Trends Survey, v.3.3: winter ‘02

31%

37%

20%

34%

41%

22%

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

All workers Whites Non-Whites

African-Americans

Hispanic-Americans

Fig. 2-2: Number of Workers Who Have No African- or Hispanic-American Co-Workers

1Work Trends researchers conclude that race is the factor with the greatest significance based on anumber of statistical tests including controlling for race, income, and education level throughout theanalysis.

Income and education play a secondaryrole in influencing how workers perceivediscrimination in the workplace. For exam-ple, among white workers earning lessthan$40,000 per year, 38% agree that African-Americans are more likely to be treatedunfairly in the workplace, while 33% ofwhite workers earning more than $40,000 ayear express similar support. The sametrend is evident among non-white workers,with those earning less than $40,000 a yearand those earning more than $40,000 a yeardemonstrating similar levels of agreementthat African-Americans are more likely toexperience discrimination in the workplace(59% and 56%, respectively). Education hasa greater influence than income on percep-tions of discrimination, particularly amongnon-white workers. While non-whiteworkders of all education levels are morelikely than whites to agree that African-Americans are discriminated against moreoften, non-white workers with more than ahigh school education are more likely thannon-white workers with a high school educa-tion or less to say that African-Americansare more likely to be treated unfairly (62%and 53%, respectively).

The opinion gap is smaller among whites,with those with more formal education voic-ing more agreement than those with less for-mal education (35% and 28%, respectively).These same trends emerge when workers areasked about Hispanic-American workers.

Finally, company diversity plays an inter-esting role in influencing how workers per-ceive discrimination in the workplace, with aracial divide evident between smaller andlarger companies. Company size is inverselyproportional to its diversity; however, com-pany diversity appears to have modest influ-ence on the perception of diversity. Thesmaller the company, the less likely it is thatAfrican- and Hispanic-Americans are amongthe employees. Over two-thirds (68%) ofthose who work at a company that employsless than 25 people say that they do notwork with any African-Americans, while 57%

say they do not work with any Hispanic-Americans. In contrast, at companies thatemploy 250 or more people, only 8% saythey have no African-American colleagues,and 15% say they do not work with anyHispanic-Americans. This trend is consis-tent for companies that employ 25-99 peo-ple and those that employ 100-249 people.At companies employing 25-99 workers,36% of workers say they have no African-American co-workers, and almost half (47%)say they have no Hispanic-American co-workers. At companies employing 100-249people, 25% of workers indicate they do not

have African-American colleagues, and 30%say they do not have Hispanic-American co-workers.

Company diversity influences the opin-ions of non-white workers more than it doesthose of white workers. For instance, 40%of non-white workers who say they have noAfrican-American co-workers agree thatAfrican-Americans, in general, are morelikely to be treated unfairly in the workplace.In contrast, 58% of non-whites who workwith 1-5% of African-Americans and 71% ofthose who work with 6-15% agree.

However, relatively low numbers of whiteworkers, regardless of their company’s diver-sity, agree that African-Americans are mostlikely to be treated unfairly at work. Only36% of whites who do not have African-American co-workers agree that they aremost at risk of unfair treatment. Amongwhites who work with 1%-5% of African-


Company size is inversely proportional to its

diversity. The smaller the company, the less

likely it is that African- and Hispanic-

Americans are among the employees. Over

two-thirds (68%) of those who work at a com-

pany that employs less than 25 people say

that they do not work with any African-

Americans, while 60% say they do not work

with any Hispanic-Americans.

American co-workers, 32% agree thatAfrican-Americans are most likely to betreated unfairly at work, while 34% of whiteworkers with 6%-15% African American col-leagues, and 30% of those with 16%-50%African-American co-workers voice the same

level of agreement. At companies where theworkforce is more than 50% African-American, 29% of white workers agree thatAfrican-Americans are most likely to experi-ence unfair treatment at work.


37% 39% 39%

31%

42%36%

32% 34%30% 29%

40%

58%

71%

31%

62%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

None 1-5% 6-15% 16-50% 50%+

% African-American Co-workers

All Workers

Whites

Non-whites

Fig. 2-3: Worker Perception of Unfair Treatment Toward African-Americans byRace and Company Diversity

Beyond the threat or perception of unfairtreatment in the workplace, many workersactually experience discrimination—againstthemselves or someone they know—at work.Again, race is the prevailing predictive factorregarding which workers will actually be dis-criminated against while at work and howworkers rate the fairness of workplace poli-cies such as hiring. In addition, income andeducation play a role. Higher income work-ers with more formal education are morelikely to have personal experience with dis-crimination. Non-white workers—particu-larly those earning more than $40,000 a yearand with more formal education—are farmore likely than white workers to say thateither themselves or someone they know atwork have experienced unfair treatment.

In this survey, Work Trends researchersasked workers to evaluate their views aboutdiscrimination in the workplace in the coun-try as a whole, and to describe their personalexperiences with discrimination. Whenthinking about their own workplaces, rela-tively few workers say they have had first-hand experience with discrimination. Asmall number (18%) of workers report thatthey are aware of instances in the last yearwhere a co-worker believed they weretreated unfairly because of their race or eth-nicity. An even smaller number (10%) saythat there were instances in the last yearwhere they believe they were being treatedunfairly at their workplace because of theirrace or ethnicity. Respondents say that boththe workers who did believe they weretreated unfairly as well as their employersresponded to these incidents in a variety ofways, with many taking no action either toreport the discrimination or to address it.Many workers who say they themselves werethe subject of unfair treatment express dis-satisfaction with their employer’s responseto their situation. It is clear that many

workers are reluctant to report incidents ofdiscrimination or unfair treatment in theworkplace. Either due to fear of retaliationor uncertainty about how to handle the situ-ation, many workers simply keep experi-ences with unfair treatment to themselves.

African-American workers and otherminorities are more likely than white work-

ers to say they themselves have personallyexperienced discrimination in the workplace.Among African-Americans, 28% say theyhave been treated unfairly at work becauseof their race, compared to 16% of workers ofother races and 6% of white workers.Workers of Hispanic origin are also morelikely than non-Hispanic workers to experi-ence race-based unfair treatment (22% and8%, respectively).

African-American workers are also muchmore likely than workers of other races orwhite workers to say that they know ofinstances in the last year where a co-workerfelt they were discriminated against becauseof their race (55%, 21%, and 13%, respec-tively). However, workers of Hispanic originare no more likely than non-Hispanic work-ers to say they know of instances where co-workers experienced unfair treatment (18%,respectively).

Difference in company size seems to bean important factor in the probability ofknowing of an instance of discrimination in


Section 3: Personal Experiences withDiscrimination in the Workplace

Among African-Americans, 28% say they have

been treated unfairly at work because of their

race, compared to 16% of workers of other

races and 6% of white workers. Workers of

Hispanic origin are also more likely than non-

Hispanic workers to experience race-based

unfair treatment (22% and 8%, respectively).

the respondent’s workplace. As the size ofthe company increased so did the number ofrespondents who knew of an instance ofracial discrimination that had taken place intheir workplace. Among workers who areemployed at companies with less than onehundred workers, only 10% say that theyknow of someone who felt they were treatedunfairly. In contrast, 25% of workers at com-panies that employ 100 people or more saythe same.

The diversity of a company does not nec-essarily mean that workers are more likely toexperience discrimination. Among non-white workers, 78% of those who do nothave African-American co-workers say that

they are unaware of anyone who has beentreated unfairly. This figure decreases forcompanies with a 1%-5% or 6%-10%%African-American workforce (62% and 43%,respectively), but then increases for thosewho work with 11%-25% or more than 25%African-Americans (66% and 57%, respec-tively). For non-white workers who have not personally experienced discrimination, there is almost no correlation with company diversity.

Despite the fact that the majority ofworkers believe that their employer takesincidents of discrimination at their work-place seriously (81%), and has a clearlydefined anti-discrimination policy (79%),most workers express dissatisfaction withhow their employer responded to their com-plaint. Almost two-thirds (63%) of workerswho believed they were treated unfairly saythat their employer ignored their complaint andtook no action in response to the incident,while 57% say that they did not believe theiremployer responded in a prompt and satisfac-tory manner. Only 7% say that theiremployer reprimanded the person engagingin the discrimination, while even fewer (2%)workers say that that employee was fired or


10%6%

28%22%

16%18%13%

55%

18%21%

All White Black HispanicOrigin

OtherRaces

Experienced Discrimination

Know of Discrimination

Almost two-thirds (63%) of workers who believed

they were treated unfairly say that their

employer ignored their complaint and took no

action in response to the incident, while 57%

say that they did not believe their employer

responded in a prompt and satisfactory

manner.

Fig. 3-1: Likelihood of Workers Experiencing Discrimination by Race

demoted. In fact, workers were slightly morelikely (5%) to say that they were transferredor fired as a result of their complaint. Eventhough most workers say that their employertakes the issue of discrimination in theworkplace seriously, many workers remaindissatisfied with how employers respond toactual incidences of unfair treatment.

Workers of all races are almost equallylikely to say that their employer has clearlydefined anti-discrimination policies, butthere is a pronounced gap between the num-ber of white workers and of African-American workers who believe that theiremployer takes incidents of discrimination inthe workplace seriously. The majority (86%)of whites and 74% of workers of other racesbelieve that their employer takes issues ofdiscrimination seriously, compared to 61% ofAfrican-Americans.

Workers employed at larger companiesare more likely than those in smaller compa-nies to say that their employer takes inci-dents of discrimination seriously and has aclearly defined discrimination policy, whileworkers in smaller companies express moresatisfaction with the way their employer

responded to their complaint. For example,among workers at companies with 100+employees, 90% say their company has aclearly defined policy on discrimination, and85% say their employer takes such com-plaints seriously. In contrast, 67% of work-ers at smaller firms say that their companyhas a clearly defined policy and 77% believetheir employer takes complaints of unfairtreatment seriously. However, among work-ers who are employed at companies with lessthan one hundred employees, almost half(47%) express satisfaction with the mannerin which their employer responded to theircomplaint of unfair treatment, compared to27% of workers of larger companies.

How Employer Policies ArePerceived When asked about certain employment prac-tices at their workplace as they impactAfrican-Americans, the majority of workerssay that employment practices in hiring, pro-motion, assignment of responsibilities,salaries, and a safe working environment arecarried out in such a way that they are fairto African-American workers (see Fig. 3-3).


81%86%

61%

74%79% 82%

74% 74%

35% 33%37% 37%

All White African-American

Other Races

Takes Incidents Seriously

Clearly Defined Policy

Satisfactory Response toComplaint

Fig. 3-2: Worker Perceptions of Employer Attitudes TowardDiscrimination in the Workplace

Interestingly, fairly high numbers of workersindicate that they do not know if employ-ment practices such as these are carried outin a way that if unfair towards African-Americans (10% to 13%, respectively).African-American workers are far morelikely than white workers or workers ofother races to say that they are not treatedfairly during the administration of thesepractices. For example, almost half (46%) of

African-American workers say that promo-tions are awarded in a way that is unfair toAfrican-Americans, compared to only 6% ofwhite workers, and 12% of workers of otherraces.

Workers with at least a high school educa-tion are more likely than workers with moreeducation to agree that employment prac-tices are unfair to African-Americans, some-times almost twice as likely. This pattern isvery likely due to the association betweenrace and educational attainment (i.e.African-Americans are more likely thanwhites to be in the high school only group).Similarly, workers earning less than $40,000a year are approximately two times morelikely than workers earning more than$40,000 a year to agree that employmentpractices are unfair to African-Americans.The strong association between race andincome (i.e. African-Americans are morelikely than whites to be in the low to moder-ate income group than high income group)is likely an important factor underlying thispattern.

What forms did this discrimination take?Workers who report being treated unfairly inthe workplace most frequently cite beingpassed over for promotion, are beingassigned undesirable tasks, as the bestdescriptions for the way in which they weretreated unfairly at work (28% and 21%,


8% 11% 9% 8% 8%

77%73%

78% 77%81%

13% 13% 10% 13% 10%

Hiring Promotion Tasks Salaries Workplace Safety

Workplace Practices

Yes, Unfair No, Fair Don't Know

Workers who report being treated unfairly in the

workplace most frequently cite being passed

over for promotion, being assigned undesir-

able tasks, and hearing racist comments as

the best descriptions for the way in which they

were treated unfairly at work (28%, 21%, and

16% respectively).

Fig. 3-3: Worker Perceptions of How Employment Practices Are Unfairto African-Americans

respectively). Many workers (16%) citedhearing racist comments as a way in whichthey were subject to unfair treatment. Whenasked to categorize the nature of the mis-treatment, African-Americans were morethan twice as likely as whites to report beingpassed over for a promotion (56% and 24%,respectively). Despite experiencing unfairtreatment, more than one-third (34%) ofthese workers say that they did nothing inresponse to the incident and kept it to them-selves. Workers who did take action weremost likely to report it to a supervisor or file

a complaint according to company proce-dures (29% and 19%, respectively). Only 4%of workers say they quit, while only 3% suedtheir company or co-worker, and 2% con-fronted the person who perpetrated the inci-dent. Interestingly, whites are far more likelythan African-Americans to keep incidents ofdiscrimination to themselves (32% and 50%,respectively), perhaps because African-American workers feel more justified inreporting such incidents to their employers.


Diversity in the WorkplaceWorker opinion is divided over what actionsAmericans believe employers should take toaddress unfair treatment in the workplace.More than half (56%) of all workers stronglyor somewhat agree that employers should berequired by law to maintain a certain level ofdiversity in the workplace (31% and 25%,respectively). However, one-fourth (25%)strongly disagree with the idea of mandatorylaws regarding diversity in the workplace.Workers are more likely to agree that thediversity among a company’s employees

should reflect the diversity of the city inwhich it is located. Almost one-third (32%)strongly agree with this statement, while31% somewhat agree. Only 16% of workersstrongly disagree with the idea that a work-place should be a reflection of the city inwhich it is located.

African-American workers are the mostlikely to agree that employers should berequired by law to maintain a certain level ofdiversity in the workplace. The majority(83%) of African-American workers agreewith this policy, compared to 66% of work-ers of other races and 49% of white workers.There is more support among workers for

the idea that the diversity among a com-pany’s employees should reflect the diversityof the city in which it is located, with 74% ofAfrican-Americans, 70% of workers of otherraces, and 61% of whites offering supportfor such a policy.

Workers of Hispanic origin are also morelikely than non-Hispanic workers to agreewith both of these policies. Almost three-fourths (74%) of Hispanic workers agreethat employers should be required by law tomaintain a certain level of diversity in theworkplace, with 44% strongly agreeing withthis policy. In contrast, among non-Hispanic workers, 53% agree with the ideaof mandated diversity in the workplace, andonly 29% strongly agree. The majority ofHispanic and non-Hispanic workers agreethat the diversity among a company’semployees should reflect the diversity of thecity in which it is located (70% and 63%,respectively).

Non-white workers in more diverse com-panies are more likely than non-white work-ers who work in less diverse companies tosupport the idea that employers should berequired by law to maintain a certain level ofdiversity. The opinions of white workers inboth diverse and non-diverse companies issimilar. Equal (51%) numbers of white andnon-white workers who say they do not haveany African-American co-workers agree thatemployers should be legally required toemploy a diverse workforce. But while 81%of non-white workers who work with up to5% African-American co-workers, only 44%of similarly situated white workers expressthe same level of agreement for this policy.Likewise, non-white workers who work with6-15% of African-American co-workers aremuch more likely than white workers whodo the same to support a diversity policy(71% and 47%, respectively).


Section 4: What Actions Should EmployersTake

Worker opinion is divided over what actions

Americans believe employers should take to

address unfair treatment in the workplace.

More than half (56%) of all workers strongly

or somewhat agree that employers should be

required by law to maintain a certain level of

diversity in the workplace (31% and 25%,

respectively). However, one-fourth (25%)

strongly disagree with the idea of mandatory

laws regarding diversity in the workplace.

Lower income workers voice more sup-port for mandated diversity than workerswith higher incomes. Among workers whoearn less than $40,000 a year, 67% agreethat employers should be required by law tomaintain a certain level of diversity, while69% agree that the diversity among a com-pany’s employees should reflect the diversityof the city in which it is located. In compar-ison, among workers earning more than$40,000 a year, less than half (49%) supportthe idea of mandated diversity in the work-place and 60% agree that a company shouldreflect the diversity of the city in which it islocated.

A massive partisan split is found amongDemocrats, Republicans, and Independentsregarding support for mandated diversity inthe workplace. Nearly twice as manyDemocrats (70%) than Republicans (44%)support this policy, with 56% ofIndependents expressing support. Nearlythree-quarters of Democrats (74%) supportthe notion that workforces should reflect the diversity of their home region, asopposed to 56% of Republicans and 64% of Independents.

A gender and education gap is found, aswell. Almost two-thirds (63%) of workerswith a high school education or less, as wellas 63% of women, agree that employersshould be required by law to maintain a cer-tain level of diversity in the workplace. Incontrast, only 49% of men and 50% of work-ers with more than a high school educationagree with workplace diversity laws.

Affirmative Action Although significant numbers of people

say that the risk of unfair treatment is still aproblem in today’s workplace, an extraordi-narily small percentage of workers support


56%63%

83%

74%74%70%

49%

61%66%

70%

Workplace Diversity Locational Diversity

All Workers

African-Americans

Hispanics

Whites

Other Races

A massive partisan split is found among

Democrats, Republicans, and Independents

regarding support for mandated diversity in

the workplace. Nearly twice as many

Democrats (70%) than Republicans (44%) sup-

port this policy, with 56% of Independents

expressing support.

Fig. 4-1: Support for Diversity Policies by Race

the idea of giving preference to oneethnic/racial group over another as a meansof addressing past discrimination. Only 9%of workers strongly agree that, because ofpast discrimination, qualified African- orHispanic-Americans should receive prefer-ence over equally qualified white workers insuch matters as getting jobs. Another 12%somewhat agree with this strategy. In con-trast, 74% of workers disagree, with morethan half (54%) strongly disagreeing thataffirmative action is a good strategy forrighting past wrongs.

Race, income, and political affiliation playan important role in determining who sup-ports affirmative action policies. African-American workers are far more likely thanwhite workers or workers of other races tosupport the idea of preferential treatment toaddress past discrimination. Half (50%) ofAfrican-Americans agree with this state-ment, and 33% strongly agree. In stark con-trast, only 15% of white workers similarlyagree, with only 4% voicing strong agree-ment. Similarly, 45% of African-Americanworkers, compared to 14% of white workersand 29% of workers of other races, say thatHispanic-Americans should receive prefer-ence when competing with equally qualifiedwhite workers.

Almost one-third (31%) of workers ofHispanic origin agree with the preferentialtreatment strategy for African-Americans,compared to 21% of workers of non-Hispanic origins. Likewise, 28% ofHispanics agree that this strategy should beapplied to Hispanic-American workers, com-pared to 19% of non-Hispanic workers.

Wealthier workers express less supportfor affirmative action policies than lower-income workers. Workers earning less than$40,000 a year are more than twice as likelyas workers earning more than $40,000 ayear to agree that because of past discrimi-nation, qualified African-Americans shouldreceive hiring preference over equally quali-


21%

33%

15%

21%

32%

13%

All Workers Less than $40K More than $40K

African-Americans

Hispanic-Americans

African-American workers are far more likely

than white workers or workers of other races

to support the idea of preferential treatment

to address past discrimination. Half of

African-Americans agree with this statement,

and 33% strongly agree. In stark contrast,

only 15% of white workers similarly agree, with

only 4% voicing strong agreement.

Fig. 4-2: Support for Affirmative Action, by Income


fied whites (33% and 15%, respectively), asshould qualified Hispanic workers (32% and13%, respectively). At the same time, lowerincome non-white workers are more likelythan higher income non-white workers tosupport affirmative action (44% and 33%,respectively). The same trend is true forworkers of different education levels, withnon-white workers with less formal educa-tion more supportive of affirmative actionpolicies than non-white workers with moreformal education.

Democrats are more supportive of affir-mative action than Republicans orIndependents. Among Democrats, 30% sup-port affirmative action for African-Americanworkers, and 27% support affirmative actionfor Hispanic workers. In contrast, only 13%of Republicans support affirmative action forAfrican-Americans, and 9% support affirma-tive action for Hispanics. Independent sup-port for affirmative action for African- andHispanic-Americans falls in the middle (20%and 21%, respectively).

Support for affirmative action for African-American workers increases slightly as com-pany diversity increases. For instance,among white workers, 87% who have noAfrican-American co-workers and 80% ofthose who work with more than 50% ofblack co-workers disagree with affirmativeaction. Likewise, 68% of non-white workers

who do not have African-American col-leagues disagree with affirmative action poli-cies, compared to 64% of those who workwith 50% or more African-American co-workers.

Other Workplace Practices toReduce DiscriminationMany workers express the opinion thateveryone in the workplace is treated equi-tably, and that no unfair treatment takesplace. It is therefore not surprising that50% of workers do not think that theiremployer needs to implement practices toreduce incidents of discrimination. Amongthose workers who do support the imple-mentation of workplace policies to combatdiscrimination, 15% say the most effectivestrategy is written rules for the workplacethat outline what their employer considersdiscrimination. Almost as many workers(14%) favor a written policy about how toreport instances of discrimination. Diversitytraining, instructor-led workshops thatexplain discrimination and the laws that reg-ulate it, and strong punitive measures forpeople who are engage in discriminationreceive only tepid support from workers(12%, 9%, and 8%, respectively). Almost noworkers favor hiring a more diverse work-force, creating better awareness of the problem, or enforcing current policies (1%,2%, and 2%, respectively). Finally, one-tenth(10%) of workers admit that they do notknow what practices their employer should implement to reduce incidents of discrimination.

Workers of all races believe that employ-ers and workers are primarily responsible foraddressing discrimination in the workplace,not government. Half (50%) of all workerssay that employers are primarily responsiblefor addressing discrimination in the work-place, while 16% say that workers them-selves bear the responsibility. Less than 10%say that either the federal or state government

Workers of all races believe that employers and

workers are primarily responsible for address-

ing discrimination in the workplace, not gov-

ernment. Half (50%) of all workers say that

employers are primarily responsible for

addressing discrimination in the workplace,

while 16% say that workers themselves bear

the responsibility. Less than 10% say that

either the federal or state government is pri-

marily responsible (7% and 5%, respectively).


is primarily responsible (7% and 5%, respec-tively). Clearly, workers are looking toemployers, not government, to take the leadrole in addressing issues of discrimination inthe workplace. This is a significant changefrom previous Work Trends surveys, whereworkers assigned a high level of responsibil-ity to government in addressing issues suchas education, job training and aiding theunemployed. Some workers take a broaderview, with 17% believing that government,employers and workers all share the respon-sibility for addressing discrimination in theworkplace.

Workers in minority groups are, in fact,more likely than white workers to say thatworkers are primarily responsible for

addressing discrimination in the workplace,the survey finds. Perhaps reflecting theirown experiences of isolation in seekingredress for unfair treatment, as described inSection 3, almost one-quarter (23%) ofHispanic workers, 23% of workers of otherraces, and 20% of African-American workersbelieve they are responsible for addressingdiscrimination, as opposed to 14% of whiteworkers. White workers are more likelythan African-American workers or workersof other races to say that employers are pri-marily responsible for addressing discrimina-tion in the workplace (54% and 43%,respectively), while workers of other racesare the least likely (41%).

15%

14%

12%

9%

8%

33%

17%

Employer

Practices

None

Don't Need Any

Punitive Measures

Workshops

Diversity Training

Policy on ReportingDiscriminationWritten RulesRe: Discrimination

12% 12%14% 15%

50%

54%

43%

41%

16%20%

20%

23%

17% 17%20%

14%

All Workers Whites African-Americans Other Races

Government

Employers

Workers

All Three

Fig. 4-3: Support for Practices Employers Should Implement toReduce Discrimination

Fig. 4-4: Who is Primarily Responsible for Addressing Discriminationin the Workplace?

In the wake of the attack of September 11,and faced with a slowing economy, Americanworkers are increasingly worried about jobsecurity and unemployment. Across thespectrum, Americans express strong supportfor concerted action by government andemployers to assist laid off workers withcareer counseling and information, financialassistance for training, and short-term grantsfor the unemployed to help pay their bills.

According to the survey, 78% of workerssay they are now very or somewhat con-cerned about the current unemploymentrate, a sharp increase from 53% whoexpressed this level of concern in the previ-ous Work Trends survey in May 2001.Worker concerns about the unemploymentrate are the highest since the survey series

began in 1998. Women express a higherlevel of concern over the current unemploy-ment rate than men. The majority (82%) ofwomen express concern about the unem-ployment rate, with 46% saying they are veryconcerned. In contrast, only 25% of mensay they are very concerned. Less thanone-fourth (23%) of workers say that now isa good time to find a quality job, plungingfrom levels of nearly 80% in the year 2000Work Trends surveys. At the same time,76% of workers are concerned about jobsecurity for those currently working today,with more than one-fourth (27%) saying thatthey are very concerned. Again, women aremore likely than men to express concernabout job security for those currently work-ing (83% and 71%, respectively).


Section 5: Economic Questions (this section contains previously released data)

Very Concerned AboutCurrent Unemployment Rate

Very Concerned About JobSecurity for those Working

Think Now is a Good Time toFind a Job

32

18 1624

20

35

59

36

2635

32

27

69 7076 78

44

23

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Sep 98 Feb 99 Jan 2000 Aug 2000 April 2001 October

2001

perc

ent

Fig. 5-1: Worker Concern About Economic Issues Over Time

Lower income workers are more likely tothink that now is a good time to find a job,as are African-American workers. Amongworkers earning less than $40,000 per year,30% say that now is a good time to find ajob, compared to 20% of workers earningmore than $40,000 a year. Similarly, 44% ofAfrican-American workers think now is agood time to find a good job, significantlyless than white workers or workers of otherraces (19% and 25%, respectively).

However, African-American workers arealso more likely to express concern over thecurrent unemployment rate and the likeli-hood that they might lose their job in thenext year. More than half (52%) of African-American workers say they are very con-cerned about the current unemploymentrate, compared to 30% of white workers and

39% of workers of other races. AmongAfrican-Americans, 36% express concernover the prospect of losing their job in thecoming year, compared to 27% of workers ofother races, and 17% of white workers.

Despite misgivings about the economy,most workers remain highly satisfied withtheir jobs, and less concerned that theythemselves might lose their job in the nextyear. The vast majority (87%) report thatthey are satisfied with their job overall, with57% saying that they are very satisfied. Atthe same time, only 8% of workers areextremely or very concerned that they mightlose their job in the next year. In contrast,more than half (59%) are not at all con-cerned about losing their job, and 20% arenot very concerned.

This survey shows that American supportfor action on jobs is intense and crosscut-ting. According to the survey, more thanhalf of American workers (52%) now believethat government has a role to play in aidingthe jobless. Of this number, 30% ofAmericans believe government should beprimarily responsible for helping those whohave been laid off. When asked a similarquestion in a 1998 Work Trends survey, only18% of workers saw government taking aprimary role. African-American workers andworkers of other races are the most likely tothink that government should take the leadrole in aiding the jobless (42% and 38%,


More than half (52%) of African-American work-

ers say they are very concerned about the cur-

rent unemployment rate, compared to 30% of

white workers and 39% of workers of other

races. Among African-Americans, 36% express

concern over the prospect of losing their job in

the coming year, compared to 27% of workers

of other races, and 17% of white workers.

Government 30%

Employers 20%Workers 19%

Gov/Employers 9%

Employers/Workers 2%

All Three 13%

Fig. 5-2: Who is Reponsible for Helping Laid Off Workers?

respectively), while white workers are theleast likely (27%).

Nearly three-quarters (74%) of Americanssay it is very or extremely important for gov-ernment and employers to provide careercounseling to help laid off workers find ajob. Over 80% of workers say that providinginformation about jobs in workers’ commu-nities is very or extremely important. Strongmajorities of Americans agree that it is veryor extremely important for government andemployers to provide laid-off workers withfinancial assistance for training (62%), andshort-term financial help to pay their bills(66%).

As lawmakers seek to implement effec-tive steps that would help the economy, thesurvey data offer one avenue of action thatsimply requires wider promotion of an exist-ing benefit for education and training assis-tance. According to the survey, fewer than15% of Americans have heard either of theHope Credit or the Lifelong LearningCredit, existing U.S. tax credits passed byCongress and the White House in 1997 tohelp workers pay for education and work-related training. Many workers and theunemployed may wish to take advantage ofthese credits over the next few months, at atime when acquiring new skills could be crit-ical to keeping or finding jobs.


23%

20%

18%

18%

58%

54%

44%

48%

15%

22%

27%

24%

Info on AvailableJobs

Career Counseling

Pay for Training

General FinancialAssistance

Extremely Important

Very Important

Somewhat Important

Fig. 5-3: Support for Government Actions to Assist Laid Off Workers


ConclusionDespite the extraordinary economic expan-sion of the 1990s and the modest growth inmedian income seen for African-Americanand Hispanic families, black and whiteAmerica still perceive opportunity from dif-ferent aspects of the economic prism. Formany, they can go as far as hard work andskill can take them; but for others, this samelevel of effort and talent may not berewarded or may even be penalized. As iswell-known, these differences bring opportu-nity costs to the economy as a whole.

Without question, the new survey showsthat workers of all races can and do firmlybelieve that employers should strive toreflect the diversity of the communities inwhich they live and strive to maintaindiverse workforces where possible.However, they are deeply divided as towhether government should mandate thesepolicies by law. Still, it is clear from the sur-vey that Americans across the spectrumwould prefer to see the mosaic of people intheir communities reflected in their work-places.

In contrast to many findings from themulti-year Work Trends series, whereAmericans sought government and employ-ers to work in partnership with them onimproving their skills and workplaces, AWorkplace Divided finds workers in agree-

ment that discrimination is a matter foremployers to address within the workplace.Indeed, workers feel the sting of discrimina-tion most acutely in the concrete practicesof hiring, promotion, and salaries, and manyAfrican-American and other workers ofcolor agree that they must also take respon-sibility for addressing these issues. Manyworkers also agree that employers do atleast take diversity seriously on paper, andhave stated policies and guidelines. Butthese good intentions unfortunately do notalways translate into effective practices.

While some workplaces reflect the demo-graphics of their region, other employershave not sought to diversify their workforcedespite the multi-ethnic nature of their localcommunities. This undermines mutualunderstanding and sharpens the divide inAmerica’s workforce in a time of economicrecession and concern.


The survey was conducted fromSeptember 28 through October 28,2001 by the Center for SurveyResearch and Analysis (CSRA) atthe University of Connecticut.This report is based on a total of1,005 telephone interviews com-pleted with adult members of theworkforce in the contiguous UnitedStates.

Interviews were conducted atthe CSRA’s interviewing facility inStorrs, Connecticut, using aComputer Assisted TelephoneInterviewing (CATI) system. AllCSRA surveys are conducted byprofessional survey interviewerswho are trained in standard proto-cols for administering surveyinstruments. All interviewersassigned to this survey participatedin special training conducted bysenior project staff. The draft sur-vey questionnaire and field proto-cols received extensive testing priorto the start of the formal interview-ing period. Interviews were exten-sively monitored by center staff toinsure CSRA standards for qualitywere continually met.

The sample for this survey wasstratified to insure that regions, asdefined by the U.S. Bureau of theCensus, were represented in pro-

portion to their share of the totalU.S. population. Within each ofthese regions, telephone numberswere generated through a random-digit-dial telephone methodology toinsure that each possible residentialtelephone number had an equalprobability of selection. Telephonebanks which contain no known res-idential telephone numbers wereremoved from the sample selectionprocess. The sample was generatedusing the GENESYS samplingdatabase under the direction of aCSRA survey methodologist. Onceselected, each telephone numberwas contacted a minimum of fourtimes to attempt to reach an eligi-ble respondent. Households wherea viable contact was made werecalled up to 25 additional times.All households who initially refusedto be interviewed were contacted atleast one additional time by a sen-ior interviewer who attempted toelicit cooperation. Within eachhousehold one adult was randomlyselected to complete the interview.

A total of 1,470 adults wereinterviewed for this survey.Respondents who worked full orpart time, or who were unemployedand looking for work, received afull interview. A total of 456

respondents who did not meetthese criteria received a short inter-view that included demographicquestions. An additional 9 respon-dents completed partial interviewsand asked that the interview becompleted after the field periodhad ended. The results of thisreport are based on a total of 1,005complete interviews with membersof the workforce. The final resultswere weighted to adjust for dispro-portionate probabilities of selectionbased on household size and tele-phone lines; additional weightswere applied to match U.S. Bureauof the Census estimates forage,educational attainment, genderand race.

The sample error associated witha survey of this size is +/- 3%,meaning that there is less than onechance in twenty that the results ofa survey of this size would differ bymore than 3% in either directionfrom the results which would beobtained if all members of theworkforce in the contiguous U.S.had been selected. The sampleerror for sub-groups is +/-6%.CSRA also attempted to minimizeother possible sources of error inthis survey.

Appendix 1: Methodology


Appendix 2: Survey Results

Hello, my name is $I and I’m callingfrom the Center for Survey Researchand Analysis at the University ofConnecticut. We’re conducting a briefnational survey of the American work-force. May I please speak to the personin your household who is at least 18years old and who has the next birth-day?

N= 146 1100%Continue 01 100%

Q1. Are you currently employed, areyou unemployed and looking for work,or are you not employed and not look-ing for work?

N= 1461 100%Employed 01 62%Unemployed and looking for work

02 => IQT1 6%Unemployed and not looking for work

03 => INT2 31%Don’t know

98 => D9 *%Refused 99 => D9 *%=> IQ4 if QS1==02

Q2. Which statement best describesyour current employment situation:(READ CHOICES 1-5)

N= 922 100%I work full-time for only one employer

01 74%I work full time for one employer andpart-time for another employer

02 6%I work one part-time job

03 9%I work two or more part-time jobs

04 2%I am self-employed

05 8%Don’t know

98 => D9 *%Refused 99 => D9 —

Q3. How many hours do you work in atypical week? (ENTER 2 DIGITS) N= 904 100%0-20 hours 1 49 5%21-30 hours 2 73 8%31-35 hours 3 32 4%36- 40 hours 4 390 43%41-45 hours 5 95 11%46-50 hours 6 112 12%51-55 hours 7 35 4%56-60 hours 8 65 7 %61-65 hours 9 14 2%66-70 hours 10 8 1%71-80 hours 11 6 1%80 or more hours per week

12 18 2%Don’t know 98 6 1%Refused 99 1 0%Mean 42.66Median 40.00Standard Deviation 12.28

Q4. I’m going to read you a list ofsome economic issues. For each issuethat I read, please tell me whether youare very concerned, somewhat con-cerned, not too concerned, or not at allconcerned about it. First is... N= 1003 100%Continue01 100%

Rotation => Q5 Q4. The current unemployment rate.Are you very concerned, somewhatconcerned, not too concerned or not atall concerned?

N= 1003 100%Very Concerned

01 35%Somewhat Concerned

02 43%Not too concerned

03 12%Not at all concerned

04 9%Don’t Know

98 1%Refused 99 *%

Q5. Job security for those currentlyworking. Are you very concerned, some-what concerned, not too concerned ornot at all concerned? N= 1003 00%Very Concerned

01 27%Somewhat Concerned

02 49%Not too concerned


04 10%Don’t Know

98 1%Refused 99 *%

Q6. Do you think that now is a goodtime or a bad time to be looking for ajob? N= 1003 100%Good time

01 23%Bad time 02 64%Don’t Know

98 13%Refused 99 *%

=> Q9 if QS1==02 Q7. How satisfied are you with yourjob overall? Are you very satisfied,somewhat satisfied, neither satisfied ordissatisfied, somewhat dissatisfied orvery dissatisfied?

N= 920 100%Very satisfied

01 57%Somewhat satisfied

02 30%Neither satisfied or dissatisfied

03 5%Somewhat Dissatisfied

04 6 %Very dissatisfied

05 2%Don’t Know

98 1%Refused 99 *%


Q8. How concerned are you that youmight lose your job in the next year?Are you extremely concerned, veryconcerned, somewhat concerned, notvery concerned or not at all con-cerned?

N= 920 100%Extremely concerned

01 3%Very concerned

02 5%Somewhat concerned

03 12%Not very concerned


05 59%Don’t know

98 *%Refused 99 *%

Q9. In times of economic downturn,many companies experience large lay-offs. Who should be primarily respon-sible for providing services to workerswho have been laid off from their job?The government, employers or theworkers themselves?N= 1003 100%The government

01 30%Employers

02 20%Workers 03 19%Government and employers (volun-teered) 04 9%Employers and workers (volunteered)

05 2%All three equally (volunteered)

06 13%Other (SPECIFY)(volunteered)

80 1%Don’t know

98 6%Refused 99 *%

Q10. I am going to read you a list ofactions that government or employersmight take to assist those who havebeen laid off from their job. For eachone, please tell me whether you thinkthese actions are extremely important,very important, somewhat important,not very important or not important atall. First...

N= 1003 100%Continue

01 100%

Q10A. Provide information about avail-able jobs in their community. (PROBEWITHCATEGORIES 1-5 ASNEEDED)

N= 1003 100%Extremely Important

01 23%Very Important

02 58%Somewhat Important

03 15%Not very important

04 1%Not important at all

05 1%Don’t know

98 1%Refused 99 *%

Q10B.Provide career counseling tohelp laid off workers understand thejobs that they are qualified for and helpthem with the job search process.(PROBE WITH CATEGORIES 1-5 ASNEEDED)






05 1%Don’t know

98 1%Refused 99 *%

Q10C. Provide financial assistance fortraining to upgrade laid off workers’skills to make them more competitivein the labor market. (PROBE WITHCATEGORIES 1-5 AS NEEDED)






05 3%Don’t know

98 2%Refused 99 *%

Q10D. Provide financial assistance fora limited period of time to help laid offworkers pay their bills. (PROBE WITHCATEGORIES 1-5 AS NEEDED)






05 3%Don’t know

98 2%Refused 99 1%

Q11. Have you ever heard of the HopeCredit offered by the federal govern-ment?

N= 1003 100%Yes 01 11%No 02 => Q12 89%Don’t know

98 => Q12 *%Refused 99 => Q12 *%

Q11a. For what does the Hope Creditoffer a tax credit? (ASK AS OPENENDED) N= 123 100%Education01 63%Taking public transportation

02 —Low-income families to supplementtheir income

03 4%Telecommuting

04 —Other (SPECIFY)

80 2%Don’t know

98 31%Refused 99 —


Q12. Have you ever heard of theLifelong Learning Credit?N= 1003100%Yes 01 14%No 02 => IQ13 85%Don’t know

98 => IQ13 1%Refused 99 => IQ13 *%

Q12a. For what does the LifelongLearning Credit offer a tax credit?(ASK AS OPEN ENDED) N= 156 100%Education

01 50%Public transportation

02 *%Low-income families to supplement their income |

03 4%Telecommuting

04 2%Other (SPECIFY)

80 3%Don’t know

98 42%Refused 99 —

Now I am going to ask you some ques-tions about some workplace relatedissues.

N= 1003 100%Continue

01 100%

USE DOWN ARROW TO VIEW ALLCHOICESQ13. In your opinion, what racial, eth-nic, or other minority groups do youthink are most likely to be treatedunfairly in the workplace? (ASK OPENENDED) (ACCEPT UP TO THREERESPONSES) N= 1003 100%Blacks/African Americans

01 21%Hispanic Americans

02 13%Women 03 8%People with disabilities

04 3%Gays or Lesbians

05 3%People with difficulty speaking English 06 5%Arab-Americans

07 18%Muslims (people of Islamic faith)

08 12%Jewish people

09 *%Christian people

10 *%No one/Everyone treated equally

11 24%All minority groups

12 2%Asians/Asian-Americans

13 2%Native Americans

14 *%Immigrants

15 *%People with little education

16 *%Whites/ Caucasians

17 5%Men 18 1%Older people

19 *%Other (specify)

80 3%Don’t know

98 13%Refused 99 2%

Q14. Please tell me whether you agreeor disagree with each of the followingstatements.

N= 1003 100%Continue01 100%

Rotation => Q14B Q14a. In general, African Americansare more likely to be treated unfairly inthe workplace than other groups.(PROBE: STRONGLY/SOMEWHATAGREE/DISAGREE)

N= 1003 100%Strongly agree

01 13%Somewhat agree

02 26%Somewhat disagree

03 25%Strongly disagree

04 30%Don’t know

98 5%Refused 99 1%

Q14b. In general, Hispanic Americansare more likely to be treated unfairly inthe workplace than other groups.(PROBE: STRONGLY/SOMEWHATAGREE/DISAGREE)


01 9%Somewhat agree



04 26%Don’t know

98 6%Refused 99 1%

Q15a. Employers should be requiredby law to maintain a certain level ofdiversity in the workplace. (PROBE:STRONGLY/SOMEWHATAGREE/DISAGREE)





04 25%Don’t know

98 4%Refused 99 *%


Q15b. The diversity among a com-pany’s employees should reflect thediversity of the city in which it islocated. (PROBE:STRONGLY/SOMEWHATAGREE/DISAGREE)





04 16%Don’t know

98 1%Refused 99 1%

Rotation => Q16BQ16a. Because of past discrimination,qualified African Americans shouldreceive preference over equally quali-fied whites in such matters as gettingjobs? (PROBE: STRONGLY/SOME-WHAT AGREE/DISAGREE)


01 9%Somewhat agree



04 54%Don’t know

98 3%Refused 99 1%

Q16b. Because of past discrimination,qualified Hispanic Americans shouldreceive preference over equally quali-fied whites in such matters as gettingjobs? (PROBE: STRONGLY/SOME-WHAT AGREE/DISAGREE)N= 1003 100%Strongly agree

01 9%Somewhat agree



04 54%Don’t know

98 4%Refused 99 1%

=> Q28 if QS1==02 For the next few questions, pleasethink about the people you immedi-ately work with.

N= 920 100%Continue01 100%

Q17a. Approximately what percentageof people at your workplace areAfrican- Americans, just your bestguess is fine? (ASK OPEN ENDED,ENTER 3 DIGITS FOR PERCENT-AGE)

N= 904 100%None

001 => Q17B 31%1-5 002 21%6-10 003 10%11-15 004 4%16-25 005 11%

26-50 006 13%51-75 007 2%76-99 008 2%All 009 1%Company is too big too know (volunteered)

997 => Q17B 2%Don’t know

998 => Q17B 3%Refused

999 => Q17B 1%Mean 14.43Median 5.00Standard Deviation 20.66

Q17b. Approximately what percentageof people at your workplace areHispanic-Americans, just your bestguess is fine? (ASK OPEN ENDED,ENTER 3 DIGITS FOR PERCENT-AGE)

N= 904 100%None 001 => IQ18 34%1-5 002 20%6-10 003 12%11-15 004 4%16-25 005 9%26-50 006 12%51-75 007 1%76-99 008 2%All 100 2%Company is too big too know(volunteered)

997 1%Don’t know

998 3%Refused999 1%Mean 14.37Median 5.00Standard Deviation 22.45

IQ18. At your company, do you feelany of the following practices are car-ried out in a way that is unfair toAfrican Americans? First...

N= 920 100%Continue 01 100%

Rotation => Q18E Q18a. Hiring (PROBE: Practices arecarried out in a way that is unfair toAfrican Americans)

N= 920 100%Yes unfair

01 8%No fair 02 77%Don’t know

98 13%Refused 99 2%

Q18b. Promotion (PROBE: Practicesare carried out in a way that is unfairto African Americans)



98 13%Refused 99 3%


Q18c. Assigning tasks and responsibili-ties (PROBE: Practices are carried outin a way that is unfair to AfricanAmericans)



98 10%Refused 99 2%

Q18d. Salaries (PROBE: Practices arecarried out in a way that is unfair toAfrican Americans)



98 13%Refused 99 3%

Q18e. Creating a safe working environ-ment (PROBE: Practices are carriedout in a way that is unfair to AfricanAmericans)



98 10%Refused 99 2%

IQ19. Now I am going to ask you somequestions about your specific experi-ences in the workplace.

N= 920 100%Continue01 100%

Q19. Do you know of any instances inthe last year where someone felt theywere treated unfairly at your workplacebecause of their race or ethnicity?

N= 920 100%Yes 01 18%No 02 79%Don’t know

98 3%Refused 99 1%

Q20. Has there been any instance inthe last year where you felt you weretreated unfairly at your workplacebecause of your race or ethnicity?

N= 920 100%Yes 01 10%No 02 => Q25 88%Don’t know

98 => Q25 2%Refused 99 => Q25 *%

Q21. Please tell me which of the fol-lowing best describes the way in whichyou felt you were treated unfairly atwork. Was it...(READ CHOICES 1 to5)Rotation => 5N= 84 100%Hearing racist comments in the workplace

01 16%Receiving a threat of physical violence

02 2%Being passed over for a promotion

03 28%Getting fired or laid-off

04 6%Being assigned undesirable tasks

05 21%Didn’t get a raise [VOL]

06 3%Personal Treatment/ Disrespect [VOL] 07 6%Sexual Harassment |[VOL] 08 2%Something else (specify)

80 8%Don’t know

98 4%Refused 99 5%

Q22. How did you respond to this inci-dent? (READ CHOICES 1-5.ACCEPT UP TO 5 RESPONSES) Rotation => 5

N= 84 100%Nothing/Kept it to myself

01 34%Filed a complaint according to com-pany procedures

02 19%Reported it to supervisor

03 29%Sued company/co-worker 04

3%Avoided certain areas/people in the office 05 10%Quit 06 4%Confronted person/ Explained situation 07 2%Other(specify)

80 5%Don’t know

98 *%Refused 99 5%

USE DOWN ARROW TO VIEW ALLCHOICESQ23. Did your employertake any action response to the inci-dent? (IF YES ASK ) What did theydo? (ACCEPT UP TO 5RESPONSES)

N= 84 100%Reprimanded person engaging in dis-crimination

01 7 %Fired or demoted person engaging indiscrimination

02 2%Made reparations or reassignment inresponse to correct discrimination

03 1%Referred matter to another companyofficial 04 2%No/Ignored the complaint of discrimination

05 63%Never filed a complaint

06 5%Transferred/ Fired employee

07 5%Compensation/ Raise

08 5%Conference/ Talked about problem

09 1%Other(specify) 80

4%Don’t know

98 2%Refused 99 6%


Q24. In your opinion, did youremployer respond in a prompt and sat-isfactory matter?

N= 84 100%Yes 01 35%No 02 57%Don’t know

98 6%Refused 99 3%

Q25. Does your employer have clearlydefined anti-discrimination policies?

N= 920 100%Yes 01 79%No 02 14%Don’t know

98 6%Refused 99 1%

Q26. In general, do you feel that youremployer takes incidents of discrimina-tion at your workplace seriously?

N= 920100%Yes 01 81%No 02 12%Don’t know

98 6%Refused 99 1%

USE DOWN ARROW TO VIEW ALLCHOICESQ27. What practices do you think youremployer should implement to reduceincidents of discrimination? (ASKOPEN ENDED. ACCPET UP TO 6REPONSES)

N= 920 100%Written rules for the workplace outlining what the employer considers discrimination

01 15%Written policy about how to reportinstances of discrimination

02 14%Instructor-led workshops that explaindiscrimination and the laws that regulate it

03 9%Diversity training

04 12%Strong punitive measures for peoplewho engage in discrimination

05 8%Problems can’t be changed

06 *%Hire more diverse workforce

08 1%

Better awareness/ Communication09 2%

Enforce Current policies10 *%

Apply policies equitability toward allwork 11 2%Other (SPECIFY)

80 3%No discrimination/Don’t need any

96 33%None 97 17%Don’t know

98 10%Refused 99 1%

Q28. In your opinion, who do youthink is primarily responsible foraddressing discrimination in the work-place? (READ CHOICES 1-4)

N= 1003 100%Employers

01 50%Federal government

02 7%State government

03 5%Workers 04 16%None of the above (volunteered)

05 1%All of the above (volunteered)

06 17%Don’t know

98 3%Refused 99 1%

Notes: Results reported reflect weighted per-centages and unweighted sample sizes

* Indicates less than .5% of responsesin category

— Indicates no responses in category

Percentages of all responses to a ques-tion may add to more than 100%because of rounding.

John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce DevelopmentEdward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public PolicyRutgers, The State University of New Jersey33 Livingston Avenue, Fifth FloorNew Brunswick, NJ 08901732/932-4100, ext. 717www.heldrich.rutgers.edu

University of Connecticut341 Mansfield Road, Room 400Storrs, CT 06269-1164860/486-2579

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