Promising Practice

Debate on the appropriateness of introducing a question on ethnic origin in studies, surveys or reports

The practice consisted of a debate on the possibility of collecting data on ethnic origin in order to accurately diagnose and better understand, monitor and act against racial or ethnic discrimination suffered by Africans, Afro-descendants, Asians, Roma and other groups who have not undergone any migratory process and/or are Spanish.
Country
Spain
Type
Institutional and structural guidelines
Foster inter-institutional cooperation
Operational guidelines
Mainstream equality data
Ensure representativeness
Collect information on self-identification
Improve comparability
Ensure regular and timely data collection
Category
Racial or ethnic origin

 


In this page:


Why was the practice needed?

The practice was implemented in order to know in greater detail the reality of racism in Spain.

Some EU countries include racial and ethnic discrimination as another variable in statistics, surveys and studies. This also obeys a recommendation of international organisations such as the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination of the United Nations, which in its latest report reminded Spain that it should have this type of information to better understand, monitor and be able to act against discrimination suffered by ethnic population groups. The European Commission's 2020–2025 Anti-Racism Action Plan also points out the need for coordination on this issue.

The practice consisted of a debate on the possibility of collecting data on ethnic origin in order to accurately diagnose and better understand, monitor and act against racial or ethnic discrimination suffered by Africans, Afro-descendants, Asians, Roma and other groups who have not undergone any migratory process and/or are Spanish.

How was it implemented?

The debate was held with national institutions, such as the National Statistics Institute and the Spanish Data Protection Agency, as well as with more than 40 civil society organisations.

Moreover, discussions were held within representative councils, such as the State Council of the Roma People or the Council for the Elimination of Racial and Ethnic Discrimination. They invited to their plenary meetings representatives of national institutions such as the above, but also European organisations, such as FRA.

On the other hand, this debate has also been dealt with in seminars organised by the Ministry of Equality, such as the Anti-Racism Week in 2021 and 2022, to which experts on the issue at the national and international levels were invited, as well as representatives of various population groups.

Outputs

  • Internal documents compile the studies, reports or statistics that have so far been developed in Spain using disaggregated data on racial or ethnic origin, and also information about good practices from other countries that already have data on racial or ethnic origin.
  • One of the debate sessions held on the need to collect data on ethnic origin organised by the Directorate-General for Equal Treatment and Ethnic and Racial Diversity of the Ministry of Equality during the second Anti-Racism Week can be found online.

Key success factors

  • Involving civil society organisations.
  • Including in the debate other stakeholders, such as relevant institutions and national or international experts.
  • Establishing as a pillar the principles of voluntariness, anonymity, protection of privacy and self-identification.

Technical information

  • Data sources covered: Household or individual surveys; Victimisation surveys; Attitudinal surveys; Diversity monitoring
  • Areas of life covered: Employment; Education; Health; Social Protection; Housing and living conditions; Access to goods and services; Hate crime
  • Target audience: Victims of racial or ethnic discrimination
  • Duration: In progress
  • Geographical scope: National
  • Leading institution: Ministry of Equality
  • Other organisations involved/consulted: National Statistics Institute, Spanish Data Protection Agency, State Council of the Roma People, Council for the Elimination of Racial and Ethnic Discrimination, FRA, more than 40 civil society organisations.
  • Financial & human resources: Budget: Data not provided; Source of the budget: Data not provided; Staff: Ministry of Equality, Directorate-General for Equal Treatment and Ethnic and Racial Diversity; Development: It has been implemented by the Directorate-General for Equal Treatment and Ethnic and Racial Diversity through several meetings with non-governmental organisations, institutions and representative councils, and bringing international practitioners and experts to forums organised by our Directorate-General.

Contacts

Carlos Morán Ferrés
Deputy A. Director-General for Equal Treatment and Ethnic Diversity
Ministry of Equality
Calle Alcalá 37, Madrid
Tel. 915243286
cmoran@igualdad.gob.es