In October 2024, Gevura Fund enlisted Public Opinion Strategies to conduct a survey of 2,002 employed Americans across the country about their experiences in the workplace with a particular focus on discrimination.

US workers painted a picture of religious discrimination on the rise in the workplace, resulting in employees being hesitant to share their religious affiliation in the office or on personal social media accounts out of fear of retaliation. Workers described experiences of being called names, being passed over for promotions, being excluded from meetings, and being asked to disguise or remove religious artifacts and dress.

While there may be a public focus on workplace discrimination based on race, age, and gender, these workers report just as high an occurrence of discrimination based on religion or religious beliefs.

Key takeaway points from these interviews include:

• While “discrimination against Jews/Muslims” is not a top tier issue for most US workers, there is a clear sense that religious discrimination is getting worse across the country, and fully two-thirds of workers believe there is “a lot of discrimination against both Jews and Muslims.”
• More than 40% of workers believe the amount of discrimination against Jews has increased over the past year or so.
• 62% of Jews believe discrimination against them has increased in the past year.
• Approximately 1 out of every 5 workers say they have witnessed discrimination in the workplace based on a worker’s race, age, political views, gender, sexual orientation, or religious views.
• Workers in the construction and manufacturing industries report the highest incidence of discrimination among all groups.
• 17% of workers say they have personally experience discrimination in the workplace based on their religion, including 34% of Jews and 47% of Muslims.
• Those who reported being discriminated against based on their religion or religious beliefs described being called names, being excluded from meetings and gatherings, and being passover for promotions.
• This discrimination is not limited to Jews and Muslims. Catholics, Protestants, and atheists all reported being discriminated against because of their religious beliefs.
• 16% of workers interviewed believed religious discrimination in their workplace has affected hiring, promotions, or job assignments.
• Near a majority – 48% – say they are concerned that posting or sharing religious content on their personal social media accounts could have negative consequences on their employment, including a majority – 54% – of all workers under the age of 45.
• 13% of workers say they have considered changing jobs to live in a state or region of the country they felt was more tolerant of their religious, political, and moral views, including 23% of Jews and 28% of Muslims interviewed.

You can view these findings along with verbatim comments from the workers interviewed for this survey in the PDF shared below.

For questions related to this survey, please email info@gevurafund.org