The numbers at a glance
- 1,350 sex discrimination charges filed in California with the EEOC in fiscal 2025
- 9,131 California right to sue complaints alleging sex or gender discrimination in 2024
- 2,456 alleging gender identity or expression, and 2,231 alleging sexual orientation
- 76 cents what women in the United States were paid for every dollar paid to men in 2024, counting part time and part year workers
- 6,787 California right to sue complaints alleging a sexually hostile environment in 2024
Sex discrimination in the statistics means unequal treatment because of sex, and the agencies fold pregnancy, gender identity and sexual orientation into it or list them beside it depending on the table. This page keeps the lines separate where the data allows and points to our dedicated pages for pregnancy, LGBTQ workers, equal pay and sexual harassment.
California sex charges by year
| Fiscal year | California charges, sex | Share of all California charges | U.S. charges | California share of U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,350 | 28.4% | 26,941 | 5.0% |
| 2024 | 1,480 | 29.0% | 26,872 | 5.5% |
| 2023 | 1,778 | 34.6% | 25,473 | 7.0% |
| 2022 | 905 | 20.5% | 19,805 | 4.6% |
| 2021 | 1,130 | 29.2% | 18,762 | 6.0% |
| 2020 | 1,260 | 30.5% | 21,398 | 5.9% |
| 2019 | 1,321 | 30.9% | 23,532 | 5.6% |
| 2018 | 1,330 | 30.6% | 24,655 | 5.4% |
| 2017 | 1,500 | 27.7% | 25,605 | 5.9% |
| 2016 | 1,560 | 26.6% | 26,934 | 5.8% |
| 2015 | 1,729 | 27.9% | 26,396 | 6.6% |
| 2014 | 1,705 | 26.8% | 26,027 | 6.6% |
| 2013 | 1,824 | 26.5% | 27,687 | 6.6% |
| 2012 | 2,036 | 27.5% | 30,356 | 6.7% |
| 2011 | 1,925 | 26.9% | 28,534 | 6.7% |
| 2010 | 1,846 | 25.8% | 29,029 | 6.4% |
| 2009 | 1,893 | 28.4% | 28,028 | 6.8% |
Sex charges from California peaked in this series at 2,036 in fiscal 2012 and were 1,350 in fiscal 2025. As a share of all California charges, sex has run between about a quarter and a third, 28.4 percent in fiscal 2025 against 30.5 percent nationally.
A note on how to read the EEOC figures. The EEOC counts a charge under every basis it alleges, so a single charge that claims sex discrimination and retaliation shows up in both columns and the columns add up to more than the total. The state figures cover charges filed with the EEOC itself, not the tens of thousands of complaints California workers file with the state Civil Rights Department, which we cover separately.
State complaints, sex, gender identity, orientation and pregnancy
| Basis | Right to sue 2024 | Right to sue 2023 | Right to sue 2022 | Investigated 2024 | Investigated 2023 | Investigated 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex or gender | 9,131 | 8,299 | 6,768 | 1,257 | 1,351 | 1,257 |
| Gender identity or expression | 2,456 | 2,373 | 1,634 | 117 | 129 | 102 |
| Sexual orientation | 2,231 | 2,147 | 1,495 | 243 | 204 | 192 |
| Pregnancy | 2,149 | 2,059 | 1,485 | 210 | 253 | 208 |
| Sexual harassment, hostile environment | 6,787 | 6,297 | 4,990 | 449 | 429 | 441 |
| Sexual harassment, quid pro quo | 2,730 | 2,858 | 2,160 | 38 | 41 | 56 |
Sex or gender was the third most cited basis in California right to sue complaints in 2024 after disability and retaliation. Together with the sexual harassment lines, gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy, sex related bases appear in a majority of the state's right to sue complaints.
A note on how to read the CRD figures. The Civil Rights Department publishes its numbers by calendar year, and it counts a complaint under every basis it lists, so the basis rows add up to more than the number of complaints. Most California workers who go to court first ask CRD for an immediate right to sue notice rather than an investigation, so the right to sue table is the closer measure of how many people are actually pursuing a claim.
Pay
Equal pay claims are counted separately under the Equal Pay Act. California recorded 65 EPA charges in fiscal 2025, and CRD does not publish an equal pay basis in its employment tables though it enforces the California Fair Pay Act. The wider measure is the wage gap: the National Women's Law Center calculates that women were paid 76 cents for every dollar paid to men in 2024 when part time and part year workers are included. Our equal pay statistics page covers the state and national figures in detail.
What these numbers mean if it happened to you
- Sex discrimination covers hiring, pay, promotion, assignments, discipline and termination, and includes stereotypes about how women or men should look and behave.
- Pregnancy, breastfeeding and related conditions are sex discrimination in California and also have their own accommodation and leave rules.
- Gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation are separately protected under California law and have been for two decades.
- Sexual harassment is a separate claim, and the two usually travel together in the same complaint.
Deadlines that decide these cases
A California worker has three years from the last act of harassment or discrimination to file with the Civil Rights Department, and one year after a right to sue notice to file in court. The federal deadline is much shorter, 300 days to file a charge with the EEOC. The counts on this page only include people who filed inside those windows. Everyone who waited too long is missing from every table here.
Treated differently because of your sex or gender?
Free, confidential review with a California employment lawyer.
Sources
The figures on this page were taken from the following publications, as released by the agencies. Percentages, changes, sums and rates per 100,000 workers are our own arithmetic from those figures.
- EEOC, Table E1b, charge receipts by state and basis, FY 2009 to FY 2025, www.eeoc.gov
- California Civil Rights Department, 2024 Annual Report (complaint tables and county appendix), calcivilrights.ca.gov
- California Civil Rights Department, 2023 Annual Report, calcivilrights.ca.gov
- California Civil Rights Department, 2022 Annual Report, calcivilrights.ca.gov
- National Women's Law Center, the wage gap state by state, 2024 data, nwlc.org
- EEOC, Table E2c, Title VII sexual harassment charge receipts and resolutions, FY 2010 to FY 2025, www.eeoc.gov
Frequently asked questions
How many sex discrimination charges are filed in California?
Does gender discrimination include gender identity?
What is the gender pay gap?
Can men bring sex discrimination claims?
Attorney advertising. The figures on this page come from the public sources listed above and are reproduced or computed as described. They are provided for general information and do not constitute legal advice, nor does reading this page create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different. If you believe your rights were violated, consult a California employment attorney promptly, filing deadlines apply.