NWLC says ending EEO-1 data could make workplace discrimination harder to track
By Riley Howell
Nonprofit Sector News
September 18, 2026
A federal proposal to end annual workforce demographic reporting would remove a source of data that the National Women’s Law Center and other nonprofits use to identify patterns of employment discrimination across companies and industries.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission voted 2-1 on July 21 to propose rescinding the EEO-1 and five other workforce data reports along with related recordkeeping requirements. The proposal remains pending. The EEOC says the reports cost employers nearly $275 million each year and cost the agency nearly $4 million to administer. The commission also argues the reports collect information that is not narrowly tailored or necessary to enforce federal anti-
discrimination laws.
The federal government has collected EEO-1 data since 1966. Private employers with at least 100 employees and certain federal contractors submit workforce information organized by job category, sex and race or ethnicity. The EEOC releases aggregate data without identifying individual workers or employers, which gives researchers and advocates a way to examine broader workforce trends.
The Washington, D.C.-based National Women’s Law Center uses those trends to identify industries in which women remain underrepresented and determine where advocacy or enforcement efforts may need more attention. Lauren Khouri, senior director of workplace equality at NWLC, called the information “a window into what’s happening in various industries.”
Khouri said the data can show where women remain underrepresented in nontraditional jobs that often pay more. NWLC also uses those patterns for its work to identify industries in which discrimination, harassment or other workplace barriers. Demographic information about industries helps the organization decide where to concentrate its work. “We’re able to focus our effort and our limited resources at the places where women need it most,” Khouri said.
Katie Sandson, senior counsel for education and workplace justice at NWLC, said the data also supports enforcement. EEOC investigators can use workforce information to compare an employer with others in the same industry or region and “better understand the bigger picture” surrounding an individual allegation.
Those comparisons can show whether one complaint points to a broader pattern of discrimination. Workforce data can also reveal disparities across entire industries. Sandson cited previous EEOC analyses that found women, Black and Latino workers underrepresented in some high-tech and science, technology, engineering and math occupations. Enforcement agencies and advocacy groups can use those findings to guide investigations, outreach and policy work.
“If the proposal is finalized, there could be a significant impact on the enforcement of anti-discrimination laws,” Sandson said. Enforcement could become “less effective, less efficient,” she said, while workers could wait longer for answers and some patterns of discrimination could go undetected.
A recent trucking case became one example in the debate over how agencies use EEO-1 information. Central Transport LLC agreed in May to pay $5.5 million to resolve an EEOC lawsuit alleging the company had passed over qualified female truck driver applicants for at least 10 years. The settlement also required changes to the company’s hiring practices.
Commissioner Kalpana Kotagal cited the Central Transport case while opposing the proposed data collection rescission. She said an analysis of the company’s EEO-1 reports revealed statistically significant hiring disparities and contributed to the EEOC’s finding of cause. Chair Andrea Lucas supported the proposal and argued that testimonial evidence of direct discrimination also played an important role in the case. Lucas said demographic disparities alone would not have been enough.
The disagreement reflects a broader divide within the commission over what role annual workforce reports should play in discrimination enforcement. Lucas and Commissioner Brittany Panuccio supported the proposal and have argued that the EEOC can request demographic information connected to a specific complaint or investigation instead of requiring covered employers to submit annual reports.
NWLC and other advocates say case-by-case requests would not provide the same nationwide view. Sandson said researchers, state and local enforcement agencies and nonprofits use aggregate EEO-1 data to study changes in employment opportunities and evaluate how workplace policies function over time.
NWLC also views the proposal within its broader criticism of civil rights enforcement during President Donald Trump’s second administration. Sandson said the organization sees the possible elimination of the data as “part of a pattern” at the EEOC under the administration “to dismantle civil rights enforcement infrastructure more broadly.”
Project 2025, the conservative Heritage Foundation-led policy blueprint developed before Trump returned to office, explicitly called for eliminating EEO-1 data collection. Khouri pointed to that recommendation while discussing NWLC’s concerns about the proposed rescission. “This is a directive that came from Project 2025 and now we’re seeing it,” Khouri said. She said NWLC would continue pressing the EEOC to explain how it sets enforcement priorities if the data disappears.
Women Employed also uses workforce data to examine employment disparities. The Chicago-based advocacy organization focuses on barriers facing women in employment, education and entrepreneurship. Sharmili Majmudar, executive vice president of policy, programs and research, said EEO-1 analysis helps the organization examine occupational segregation, including the overrepresentation of women in lower-paid jobs and men in higher-paid jobs.
Majmudar said the data can show how an industry’s workforce changes over time, how one employer compares with others and who advances into management. “Ending this data collection will make it much more difficult to answer these questions,” she said.
Illinois collects some workforce and pay information at the state level, but Majmudar said state reporting cannot replace a national system. “Illinois remains one of very few states that collect this information, and a disjointed system of state-level data collection does not replace the comprehensive nature of federal data collection,” Majmudar said.
Khouri said NWLC would continue drawing attention to barriers facing women and workers of color if the reporting requirements end. The organization would also push for more transparency about how the EEOC chooses its enforcement priorities. Without the same national dataset, advocates would have less information to compare those priorities with broader workforce patterns.
The National Women’s Law Center began in 1972 as a project of the Center for Law and Social Policy. It works on workplace justice, education, childcare and reproductive rights through litigation, policy advocacy and public education. NWLC’s annual budget is about $40 million. Its recent advocacy has challenged several Trump administration policies that NWLC says weaken protections for women and other workers.
