I recently read an employment law blog discussing the EEOC’s proposal to eliminate EEO-1 reporting obligations. Accompanying the article was a cartoon depicting a smug-looking blonde woman riding a forklift while digging a grave for EEO-1 reporting. The image struck me as oddly celebratory, almost gleeful.

Both the article and the cartoon left me feeling unsettled. At the same time, they seemed perfectly representative of the environment we find ourselves in today when it comes to the erosion of workplace DEI and civil rights protections. The underlying message appeared to be: “What’s the big deal? Most employers never wanted to complete these reports anyway.”

I’m sure plenty of employers viewed EEO-1 reporting as an administrative burden. But there are also many that understand the value of demographic data, and how it can help employers better understand and respond to their workforce. In fact, a few states have their own demographic reporting requirements in place, and if history is an indicator, more states are likely to follow regardless of what happens at the federal level. So why is demographic reporting important and what can companies do with this kind of information?

            How Did the Federally-Mandated Demographic Tracking Become a Thing and Why Is It Important?

Federal workforce demographic reporting didn’t just emerge out of nowhere. It developed through a series of efforts aimed at combating discrimination in the workplace. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued Executive Order 11246, which required federal contractors to commit to nondiscriminatory employment practices. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) was charged with enforcing these obligations. The order prohibited federal contractors and subcontractors doing over $10,000 in government business from discriminating based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Congress later codified these efforts through Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Act authorized the EEOC to require employers to submit workforce demographic data. This eventually became the EEO-1 reporting system that most HR professionals know today. Private employers with at least 100 employees, along with certain federal contractors employing 50 or more people, were required to submit workforce demographic information categorized by race, ethnicity, gender, and job category.

The EEO-1 had a very straightforward and consequential purpose: to identify discrimination trends, monitor compliance with equal employment laws, and understand workforce representation across industries.

            So What Happens When the Data Disappears?

For decades, EEO-1 reports have been one of the few consistent sources of nationwide workforce demographic data. They allowed researchers, policymakers, employers, and advocates to track representation across industries and job levels. Without this information, we lose visibility into critical questions that every employer who cares about their workforce should be asking, like: How many women are typically hired for certain types of roles? Which ethnic groups are in the lowest-paying roles? Which industries are making progress when it comes to diverse talent, and which are falling behind?

When the data disappears, so does accountability, transparency, harm reduction, and progress.

This shift is also consistent with an overall trend of federal agencies scaling back DEI-related initiatives and reporting requirements. Whether one supports or opposes those changes, no one could argue with any seriousness that less is more when it comes to data, or that flying blind ever did anyone any good.

Fortunately, there are a few states that “get it” – Colorado, California, Illinois and Massachusetts, specifically. These states require employers to maintain demographic reporting, and if history is any indicator, there will likely be other states following them.

            Can Employers Still Collect Workforce Demographic Data?

Employers don’t actually need a federal or state mandate in order to collect employee demographic data. The information collected must only being used for legitimate business purposes, such as understanding representation, identifying promotional barriers, and monitoring trends. It can even be used to help determine what employee benefits the company might consider offering.

What’s more is that the information that a private employer can collect is much broader than the EEO-1, such as gender identity (as opposed to sex assigned at birth), age group, veteran status, family status, and  disability status. This information ultimately helps employers view its workforce with a clear eye.

If your company is tracking demographic data, make sure that it’s done on a voluntary basis and not mandated. The information should be collected anonymously, and the results should be aggregated and not attributable to any individual employees. Additionally, employers should be transparent about why the information is being collected and the things the company will be using it for. Lastly, whatever platform or software you are using, make sure that it’s secure and that there is a way to prevent and address data breaches.

The EEOC has made several controversial and, in my view, regressive decisions affecting workplace equity efforts. I suspect there will be more to come. But even if federal reporting requirements disappear, employers must still continue making decisions every day about the kind of workplaces they want to create. Credit is due to the many employers that continue investing in understanding their workforce and using that insight to build workplaces where all employees have an opportunity to succeed.