From 1947 to 1961, more than 5,000 allegedly homosexual federal civil servants lost their jobs in the purges for no reason other than sexual orientation, and thousands of applicants were also rejected for federal employment for the same reason. During this period, more than 1,000 men and women were fired for suspected homosexuality from the State Department alone—a far greater number than were dismissed for their membership in the Communist party.

^ Adkins, Judith (August 15, 2016). "'These People Are Frightened to Death' Congressional Investigations and the Lavender Scare". archives.gov. The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Archived from the original on January 16, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2018. Historians estimate that somewhere between 5,000 and tens of thousands of gay workers lost their jobs during the Lavender Scare.

^ Sears, Brad; Hunter, Nan D.; Mallory, Christy (September 2009). Documenting Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in State Employment (PDF). Los Angeles: The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law and Public Policy at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law. pp. 5–3. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 6, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2018. 