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What is data disaggregation?
Disaggregation means breaking down large data categories into more specific subcategories. “Data disaggregation” refers to the collection, reporting, and analysis of information on specific subgroups by race, ethnicity, and other characteristics. When data are disaggregated, researchers are better able to analyze differences between groups, as well as the relationship between multiple variables, such as race and age.
Why do we need disaggregated data?
Aggregated data hide inequities. In many existing state and federal data collection systems, data are not sufficiently disaggregated by race and ethnicity (including subgroups and first language), sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), disability, age, income, and other characteristics like geographic area or social determinants of health. This masks the nuanced realities of many communities behind larger trends, and makes it more difficult to address inequities. As just one example, aggregate data may perpetuate the model minority myth — that all Asian Americans have high levels of income, homeownership, education, and health — but disaggregated data reveal large disparities among AANHPI groups. For instance, the percentage of Asian Americans living below the poverty line ranges from 6.8 percent of Filipino Americans to 39.4 percent of Burmese Americans.
What are we doing about it?
The Education Fund and our partners in the Data Disaggregation Action Network are working to advance federal and state policies as they relate to data disaggregation by race and ethnicity through the engagement and empowerment of communities. Through the creation of a state and national advocacy infrastructure to engage stakeholders, policymakers, and communities on the need for disaggregated data, D-DAN works to improve data quality and accessibility in order to better understand disparities and achieve racial equity.
D-DAN partner spotlight:
Malikah: advancing data disaggregation in New York City
Based in New York City, Malikah is a global collective of women committed to building safety and power for themselves and their communities. Through the D-DAN collaboration, Malikah will be conducting educational workshops on data disaggregation within Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) communities, empower community members to become advocates for data disaggregation and communicate to different audiences to push for change, and host storytelling workshops where SWANA community members can share their personal experiences and the unique challenges they face. By sharing their stories, participants can illustrate the real-world impact of data disaggregation and build a compelling case for its implementation.
In partnership with the New York Immigration Coalition, Malikah helped develop a report titled, Invisible in the Data: The Lack of a Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) Race & Ethnicity Category Obscures Disparities, which serves as a guide for community leaders and advocates working to advance equity for Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) communities by outlining the importance and impact of accurate and representative demographic data collection, analysis, and reporting.
Learn more about our D-DAN partners here!
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Latest News
NEW LEGISLATION
New Jersey: A-3092wGR/S2415, signed by Governor Murphy along with two other immigrants’ rights bills on January 12, 2024, will require State agencies to disaggregate data for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI), Middle Eastern and North African (MENA), and South Asian and Indian Diaspora communities. The bill was led by members of New Jersey’s AANJPI Legislative Caucus, including Senator Vin Gopal and Assembly Member Sterley Stanley. New Jersey regularly outranks other states in its share of AANHPI and MENA populations, and thanks to the leadership of community organizations and sponsors, the bill had broad bipartisan appeal within the Legislature. The Legislature concurred with the Governor’s conditional veto to afford State agencies the flexibility to comply with any distinct data collection and reporting practices required by federal laws, regulations, programs, or surveys, and to account for evolving standards and guidance that may be issued by the federal Office of Management and Budget or the United States Census Bureau in the future. In their final push to get this legislation passed, New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice and its members leveraged findings from The Education Fund’s Disaggregation Nation report to demonstrate that many states disaggregate health data without the concerns raised in opposition to the New Jersey bill, and used the report to help navigate discussions with the Governor’s office on the need for data equity to address education and health disparities.
- Governor’s office press release
- Background and statements on the bills from New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice and other advocates who worked to pass them
Resources »
Blog Series
Our Data Disaggregation Deconstructed blog series explores how data disaggregation in various policy areas can enhance equity. The series is based on The Leadership Conference Education Fund’s report “Information Nation: The Need for Improved Federal Civil Rights Data Collection,” which urges the Biden administration to restore and expand the scope, frequency, and public accessibility of federal data collections in order to identify equity gaps and solutions to remedy them, as well as our follow-up report “Data for Equity: A Review of Federal Agency Equity Action Plans”, which makes eight recommendations about how federal agencies can improve the collection, analysis, and sharing of data.
- Data Disaggregation Deconstructed: AANHPI communities
- Data Inclusion is Vital for LGBTQI Equality
- Why the Census Matters for Disability Data Inclusion
- Civil Rights Data Collection Must Improve for Equity in Education
- Why the FCC Should Make its Employment Data Public
- Why Collecting Disaggregated Data for Native Communities Matters
- Why a MENA Category Matters
- “Data for Equity” Report Makes Recommendations to Federal Agencies on Improving Civil Rights Data Collection
- Advancing Equity Requires Leadership and Coordination Across Agencies
- Investments in America’s Data Infrastructure Are Essential to Our Democracy
- Advancing Health Equity Through Disaggregated Race/Ethnicity Data
- Accurate Collection of Disaggregated Data Is Critical to Illuminate the Diversity of the Latino Community
- Disaggregation Nation! Convening our Community of Data Equity Advocates
- How States Are — and Are Not — Working to Improve Race and Ethnicity Data Collection
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