The City of Madison Equal Opportunities Commission has announced a new series of public listening sessions to discuss workplace discrimination and empower individuals with the necessary tools to report it. The first session will be held on Wednesday, June 11, 6 p.m. at the Central Library in downtown Madison.
“It’s our first public listening session that’s focused on workplace discrimination,” Deana Wright, a member of the City of Madison Equal Opportunities Commission and the organizing subcommittee, tells Madison365. “In the past, we had pretty good participation at our listening sessions that were focused on housing discrimination. But because now we’re seeing more complaints of workplace discrimination, and it is a critical issue even in Madison, we thought it would be a good idea to do this.”
Wright says that in 2024, of the roughly 400 complaints that were filed at the EOC, about half – 200 or so – were workplace discrimination cases.
“That is a lot. Keep in mind that we know folks who are feeling it at work and just not mentioning it,” Wright says. “There are a lot of folks out there who are suffering in silence.
“So for the listening sessions, we are just inviting folks to share their experiences, whether they’ve been discriminated against, or they know someone who has been discriminated against,” Wright continues. “It’s a chance to learn about their rights and get together to be a part of building a more equitable and more inclusive work environment. It’s free. It’s open to the public. We’re going to be serving some light refreshments.”
Wright’s father, Rev. James C. Wright, worked during the 1960s to bring about the adoption of the City of Madison’s Equal Opportunities Ordinance. He served as a member of the Equal Opportunities Commission before his appointment as executive director of the Equal Opportunities Commission.
“I’m a relatively new commissioner,” Wright says, “and I’m really proud and grateful to be a part of this commission. As you know, we’ve really been leading the way since my dad was the executive director of the EOC back in the early 1960s.”
During his years with the City, Rev. Wright spearheaded the drafting of the City’s first affirmative action ordinance and developed a complaint resolution process for the Equal Opportunities Commission that provided a make-whole remedy for victims of discrimination.
“In the 1960s, which is roughly 60 years ago, I ran across a quote that my dad made, saying something like, ‘It’s appalling in this day and age that in the matter of basic shelter, a negro’s choice was restricted,’ because back then, the EOC’s focus was primarily on housing discrimination,” Wright says. “But what I say is, at this day and age, in 2025, it is appalling that in the matter of being treated equitably in the workplace, Black and brown people are still subject to bias and exclusion and unequal treatment. We’ve had some improvement, but despite those decades of progress and promises, we are too often undervalued, overlooked, and unheard.”
The series of community listening sessions on workplace discrimination is being organized by a diverse subcommittee of city leaders, advocates, and professionals committed to addressing the root causes of workplace inequities. Input from these sessions will help inform future citywide strategies and resources for employees and employers.
“There are folks that are dealing with harassment that’s creating a hostile work environment. There’s the denial of accommodations for folks with disabilities or those who are part of the LGBTQ+,community or those who have certain religious beliefs,” Wright says. “We know that the [Trump] administration’s Project 2025 has really begun dismantling regulations and agents and things that are aimed at combating workplace discrimination.
“So it may be challenging in the future or even now to identify and address those practices, but we want to look beyond empowering our community group with the necessary information and tools to report these incidents, which we will do at these listening sessions,” Wright continues. “We want to provide that listening ear to hear what folks are experiencing and how they’re suffering, and we want to be able to offer some solutions and some remedies that will really go beyond just hearing their accounts.”
These listening sessions are part of a broader citywide initiative to engage community members in open dialogue and amplify diverse experiences, the City of Madison said in a press release announcing the sessions, and the Commission aims to build more equitable and inclusive professional environments across the City of Madison.
“We’re looking to do four public listening sessions total; possibly five,” Wright says. “The next one we will be doing after Central Library will be in South Madison.”
Wright says that the listening sessions will be more than a conversation; they will be a step toward action.
“Change is desperately needed and that change is going to start with conversation,” she says. “We’re trying to create this space to hear directly from those who’ve experienced discrimination and to equip community members, especially those community members of color, with the tools and information they need to file a complaint and advocate for their rights.
“It’s really unacceptable that workers still have to fight to be treated fairly, and our community must be part of the solution,” Wright adds. “And the way to do that is to come to support us by coming to this first public listening session at Madison Central Library.”
The Madison Central Library is located at 201 W. Mifflin Street.
