Responding to the Federal Evidence Agenda on LGBTQI+ Equity Request for Information
Advancing data equity for gender-diverse communities requires a holistic approach to how these individuals are perceived, seen, categorized, and excluded. From the perspective of data science, there is momentum to define the boundaries of the discipline. Issues of data ethics, policy, governance and digital rights are essential to advance the responsibility and equity within and beyond the field.
Invisibility in official numbers, data use, and regulatory frameworks generate knowledge gaps. These issues are also related to a broader context in which public policies and politics play a central role. Data equity is shaped by different sociocultural and political conditions, from general data protection laws and official data collection mechanisms to policies for (or against) transgender individuals.
In June 2022, President Biden established a new Subcommittee on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Variations in Sex Characteristics (SOGI) Data through the historic Executive Order on Advancing Equality for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Individuals. This new SOGI Data Working Group will develop a Federal Evidence Agenda on LGBTQI+ Equity to serve as a roadmap for the federal government. As part of the process, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) requested inputs to help inform the Federal Evidence Agenda on LGBTQI+ Equity.
On October 3, the School of Data Science at the University of Virginia submitted a response to the Request for Information (RFI) prepared by Assistant Professor Jess Reia. We are joining this conversation about the data collection of gender-diverse communities from a perspective of digital rights, data equity, and the public interest. You can download the document below.
