Rhetoric Versus Reality? A Comparative Study of Public and Non‐Public Sector Employees' Perceptions of Discrimination

ABSTRACT How people are treated in the workplace is of increasing concern, with many scholars arguing that the government, as an employer, should set the standard for equitable treatment. While attention to equity in public administration has grown in research and practice, minimal work has comparatively explored discrimination in the public and non‐public sectors. Drawing on data from the 2018 European Social Survey, this study explores possible differences in how public and non‐public employees perceive discrimination and how perceptions vary across countries. In most countries, the differences between the sectors were not significant, but the findings show that the country, administrative culture, and sociodemographic variables play a role in perceptions of discrimination. This exploratory study makes an important empirical contribution by accumulating evidence of perceptions of discrimination across countries and has practical implications for human resource management practitioners.