Back to Goal 5From Measures and Milestones 2002
p. 24-25, published 2002
A clear measure of the success of a society is the degree to which it accepts others, even so-called outsiders, regardless of their race, heritage, age, ability, health, or gender. Indeed, our nation is the envy of the world in no small part because of its capacity to accommodate remarkable diversity. Regardless of the events of September 11, the preservation of this capacity for acceptance remains key to our strength. The portion of Kentuckians who believe we are making progress on this key goal has increased slightly.
Table 1: Where Citizens Think We Stand
Though numerous informal complaints of discrimination are made to the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights every year, only a small number of these result in signed, sworn, formal complaints that are filed and fully investigated. While the number of informal complaints rose in the mid-1990s, the trend was broken when these complaints fell sharply, from 9,950 in 1998 to only 5,005 in 2000. Over these two years, a sharp decline in signed, sworn complaints also occurred. These data suggest that discrimination is receding in Kentucky. Thus, we are progressing toward realization of this important goal.
Figure 1: Informal and Sworn Complaints of Human Rights Violations, Kentucky, 1993-2000
A hate crime, also known as a bias crime, is a criminal offense committed against a person, property, or society that is motivated in whole or in part by the offender’s bias. In 2000, 18 hate crimes per 1 million Kentuckians were committed, a rate comparable to that reported for Indiana and Ohio, but considerably less than the rate reported for Tennessee.
Figure 2: Reported Hate Crimes, Kentucky and Selected Neighboring States, 2000
No definitive trend in the number of sex discrimination complaints filed with the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights has emerged over the past decade though the number of filed complaints has more than doubled since 1996. The primary reasons cited for sex discrimination complaints are job termination, issues of pay equity, and unfair treatment during or after pregnancy. The sharp rise in sex discrimination complaints is attributable to the growing importance of women’s employment to household and family income and, with it, the rising awareness of women’s rights in the workplace, especially involving family and maternal leave.
Figure 3: Sex Discrimination Complaints Filed with the Kentucky Human Rights Commission, 1993-2000
As shown, the gender wage gap as reflected in raw averages has been wider in Kentucky than nationally since the early 1980s. Recognizing the complex nature of this persistent gap, researchers have identified a variety of possible causes. They have found that after controlling for education, experience, occupation, industry of employment, and a variety of socioeconomic factors, the gap narrows considerably. However, in most cases, there remains at least a 12 percent difference that raises the question of discrimination. Fortunately, in Kentucky, we have seen a decline in the raw gender wage gap over this 20-year period, signaling increasing equality in the labor market experiences of the sexes.
Figure 4: Raw Gender Wage Gap, Kentucky and the U.S., 1980-2000
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