OMB Interagency Technical Working Group on Race and Ethnicity Standards

 

January 27, 2023

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) undertakes periodic reviews of its Federal statistical standards to ensure that they are keeping pace with changes in the population and evolving needs and uses for data. In 2022, OMB convened the Federal Interagency Technical Working Group on Race and Ethnicity Standards (Working Group). OMB charged the Working Group with providing recommendations on topics including, but not limited to:

  • Whether the minimum reporting categories should be changed and how to best address detailed race and ethnicity groups in the standards;

  • Whether updates should be made to the question format, terminology, and wording of the questions, as well as the instructions for respondents and associated guidance; and

  • Whether guidance for the collection and reporting of race and ethnicity data can be improved, including in instances when self-identification is not possible.

On January 27, the Working Group announced their initial proposals, which included:

  • Collecting race and ethnicity together with a single question;

  • Adding a response category for “Middle Eastern or North African,” separate and distinct from the “White” category; and

  • Updating SPD 15’s terminology, definitions, and question wording.

 
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