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Updated OMB standards are a major step forward to accurately measure a country’s diversity
Washington — The Leadership Council on Civil and Human Rights after the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) revised federal standards for racial and ethnic data collection, making available federal data that better reflects the nation’s diversity. issued the following statement: The new OMB standards, which haven’t been updated since 1997, will help the federal government, policymakers, and civil rights organizations better understand how civil rights compliance and other programs are being used across different racial and ethnic groups. You will be able to understand it.
The United States is a nation of immigrants with a diverse mix of nationalities, ethnicities, and backgrounds, and the census must reflect that. That’s why we’re pleased to include the Middle East/North Africa category, detailed data collection requirements, and combined question formats. All of these are important steps to ensure that they are properly researched, tested, and implemented. People of all backgrounds are represented in our democracy.
“The new race and ethnicity data standards announced today include several updates that have been requested by the civil rights community for decades. Although this is a major step in the right direction, “We recognize that additional work is still needed to move standards to fully reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the population, particularly with respect to the Black diaspora.” Maya Wiley, President and CEO, Leadership Conference. “Previous federal racial and ethnic data collection standards fail to accurately measure our nation’s full diversity, and many individuals are unable to accurately measure the racial and ethnic I couldn’t see myself reflected in that category.”
“Before the Office of Management and Budget engages in due diligence, research, and testing on how to elicit comprehensive and accurate answers for people in multiple racial or ethnic categories, we We are concerned that you have already specified detailed categories.,” Said Meeta Anand, Senior Director of the Leadership Conference’s Census and Data Equity Program.
We urge OMB and the Census Bureau to undertake research and testing to address these concerns. We hope that strong community engagement by OMB and the Census Bureau will lead to successful implementation of the standards.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a diverse coalition of more than 240 national organizations dedicated to promoting and protecting the rights of all people in the United States. The Leadership Conference works for an America as great as its ideals. For more information about The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, please visit: www.civilrights.org.
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