Summary of ADVANCING OPPORTUNITY - A REVIEW OF EEOC'S SYSTEMIC PROGRAM (July 2016)

Systemic enforcement is central to advancing opportunity and freedom from discrimination in the workplace:

• EEOC defines systemic discrimination as pattern or practice, policy and/or class cases where the alleged discrimination has a broad impact on an industry, profession, company, or geographic location.
• Systemic discrimination creates barriers to opportunity that cause widespread harm to workers, workplaces, and our economy.
• Systemic enforcement is a highly effective strategy to advance opportunity because it addresses the barriers that impede equality and productivity.
• Systemic enforcement is a highly efficient strategy for EEOC, because the agency can resolve multiple charges of discrimination in one case and bring about significant changes to workplace practices to prevent discrimination from recurring.
• Systemic enforcement is a core component of EEOC's integrated strategy to advance workplace opportunity, together with outreach, policy development, research, the investigation, mediation, and litigation of individual charges, and federal sector adjudication and oversight.

Progress and Success of EEOC's Systemic Program from 2006-2016:

• Directly benefited more than 71,000 individuals, recovered almost $533 million, and removed barriers to equality and productivity in thousands of workplaces.
• Tripled the amount of monetary relief the agency recovered for victims in the past five fiscal years (2011-2015), compared to the relief recovered in the first five years after the Systemic Task Force Report.
• Tripled the rate of successful systemic conciliations from 21% in fiscal year 2007 to 64% in fiscal year 2015.
• Achieved a 10-year success rate of 94 percent for systemic lawsuits.
• More than 80 percent of systemic resolutions in fiscal year 2015 raised national priority issues identified in the SEP, reflecting the agency's strategic approach.

Moving Forward

• EEOC is developing strategies to proactively address areas where significant employment problems persist or are emerging, and where government enforcement is most needed.
• EEOC is advancing solutions that promote lasting opportunity in the workplace and help prevent discrimination.
• EEOC is investing in training, technology, and staffing to strengthen its systemic program to ensure success.