Promising Practice

IEDCB – Improving equality data collection in Belgium

The project aims to improve the collection and processing of equality data in Belgium and to provide a centralised platform to improve accessibility and transparency. The result will be a hub of equality data sources in Belgium for three discrimination grounds (‘racial’ criteria; religion or belief; and sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex).
Country
Belgium
Type
Institutional and structural guidelines
Map existing sources
Foster inter-institutional cooperation
Build up data hub
Category
Gender identity or expression
Racial or ethnic origin
Religion or belief
Sex
Sexual orientation
Intersex / variation of sex characteristics
Includes multiple / intersectional discrimination

 


In this page:


Why was the practice needed?

Although some useful instruments for equality data exist in Belgium, such as ‘socio-economic monitoring’, there are several gaps and a lack of data on some target groups, and the existing data sources are not used or contain poor definitions of variables. This assessment led to the conclusion that an initiative to improve the collection and use of equality data was necessary in Belgium. This project is a direct result of the work of the Subgroup on Equality Data created at the end of 2017 by the European Commission’s High Level Group on Non-Discrimination, Equality and Diversity.

The general objective of the project is to strengthen the collection and use of equality data in Belgium and to provide a centralised platform to improve accessibility and transparency. This can be divided into three specific objectives:

  • The first objective is to map sources of equality data in Belgium.
  • The second objective is to analyse the results of the mapping, identify the gaps and develop recommendations on improving the use and collection of equality data in Belgium.
  • The third objective is to centralise the sources of equality data identified in the mapping in a data hub and to make them transparent and accessible.

How was it implemented?

The project has been implemented following three main directions, which correspond to the three specific objectives (mapping sources; identifying gaps and developing recommendations; and centralising sources in a data hub).

The result will be a hub of equality data sources in Belgium for the three discrimination grounds that are the focus of this project (‘racial’ criteria; religion or belief; and sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex), with a study on the gaps in collection and use, followed by recommendations and finally with a functioning data hub, centralising the information on sources of equality data and making it publicly accessible. This will be achieved by, among other means, consulting regularly with the stakeholders (institutional and civil society) working on equality data.

Outputs

  • More information about this project to improve the collection and processing of equality data in Belgium can be found in this article.

Key success factors

  • Provides public institutions and civil society with a clear and complete overview of the sources of equality data in Belgium on (1) racial criteria, (2) religion and belief, and (3) sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics, and of the gaps, as well as presenting them together with the recommendations.
  • Mapping tool has been adapted to the Belgian context.
  • Increases the capacity of policymakers and civil society to use equality data as the basis for policymaking and public debate.
  • Develops a human rights-based approach.
  • Highlights the importance of equality data and the need to improve their development in Belgium.
  • Helps raise awareness among the general public of the usefulness, importance and challenges of equality data.
  • Allows Belgium to respond more effectively to international recommendations on the need to collect equality data.
  • Allows Belgium to adopt international standards on collecting equality data.
  • Additionally maps sources of equality data about other groups/grounds of discrimination.
  • Provides an overview of which data exist and which data are lacking.
  • An IEDCB II project that would extend the mapping is planned for 2022.

Technical information

  • Data sources covered: Employment, Education, Health, Social Protection, Housing and living conditions, Others: Media
  • Areas of life covered: Administrative data, Qualitative research
  • Target audience: Belgian federal and state-level public institutions and Belgian civil society
  • Duration: 2 June 2020 to 31 May 2021
  • Geographical scope: Belgium
  • Leading institution: Unia and the Equal Opportunities Team (Ministry of Justice)
  • Other organisations involved/consulted: The project considered it important to consult two types of partners by establishing support committees: (1) institutional committees, including, among others, representatives of equality bodies such as Myria and the Institute for the Equality of Women and Men, and civil servants. (2) a consultative committee, involving the civil society organisations working for people with the protected criteria for which the mapping has been done.
    In addition, to collect equality data sources, various interviews with experts in their field were conducted, and questionnaires were sent to public institutions and civil society organisations working with equality data.
  • Financial & human resources: Budget: Around €175,000; Source of the budget: This project was co-funded by the European Union’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme (2014–2020). The EU contribution to the budget was €124,387.93; Staff: Three members of the Equal Opportunities Team of the Federal Public Service Justice and three members of Unia

Contacts

Unia – equalitydata@unia.be

Equal Opportunities Team (Ministry of Justice)
Equal@just.fgov.be
www.equal.belgium.be