Data Equity: Revisiting the OMB Racial and Ethnic Categories

In November 2022, the Policy Office convened 29 experts on race, racialization, and data equity from across the country to discuss problems with the existing racial and ethnic categories used for data collection, and consider potential improvements. These experts included community advocates, researchers, lawyers, and scholars. The Center planned this convening after meeting with executive branch officials and learning of possible revisions to the federal standards for racial and ethnic data collection for the first time in 25 years. The current federal racial demographic data categories are “American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN),” “Asian,” “Black or African American,” “Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (NHPI),” and “white,” and the ethnic categories are “Hispanic” and “Not Hispanic.”

The convening offered a critical space for participants to workshop ideas in advance of these revisions. Indeed, two months after the convening, the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a notice and request for comments on this subject.  In April 2023, the Center submitted its comment with proposals to the OMB.