Improving equality data collection in Belgium
"Improving equality data collection in Belgium” (IEDCB) is a Belgian project co-funded by the Rights, Equality and Citizenship (REC) programme of the Directorate-General for Justice of the European Commission. It was realised thanks to a partnership between Unia and the Equal Opportunities Team of the Federal Public Service for Justice with the aim of promoting the effective implementation of the principle of non-discrimination in Belgium. This project was conceived during the exchanges of good practices of the Equality Data Sub-Group of the High Level Group on non-discrimination.
With this project, new tools were developed in order to support the collection and use of equality related data by mapping existing data in our country and improving interactions with other types of available data and research. More concretely, this project strengthened the collection and use of equality data in Belgium and provides a centralised platform to improve accessibility and transparency.
It is aimed at two main target groups: firstly, public institutions, as they produce most of the data on equality. These institutions benefit from the collection and use of this data and their optimisation; and secondly, civil society, which is a user of this data and sometimes even a collector.
What exactly is equality data?
Equality data is any piece of information that allows us to describe and analyse the state of equality or inequality in society. ‘Data’ is used as a general term and can refer to both quantitative and qualitative data. Such data can be collected from a number of data sources such as official data (census, administrative databases), household and individual surveys, victimisation surveys, complaints, discrimination testing, diversity monitoring and qualitative research.
Data hub with data on (in)equality and discrimination in Belgium
First and foremost, an inventory of the existing equality data in Belgium was made. This online data hub is freely accessible and makes it possible to easily search data sources according to different criteria and domains. Try it yourself now!
This inventory was compiled thanks to input from civil society organisations and public institutions and through our own proactive research. This process is not yet complete: we are still looking for new sources, so please feel free to send us new data sources! Any request for additions can be communicated to Unia by clicking on this link.
Final report with recommendations and closing conference
Together with this inventory, a report with insights and recommendations on the collection and processing of equality data was published. The report exposes several gaps in the Belgian equality data. For example, there is a lack of reliable figures on access to health care based on “racial” criteria. Moreover, too little data is collected on sexual orientation or religious and philosophical beliefs. It was also noted that there is a need for clearer information about the legislation regarding the processing of personal data. Finally, Unia recommends focusing on a coordinated approach to the collection and processing of equality data.
This report and the data hub were also the subject of a closing conference in June 2021. The recording of this conference can be found on Unia's YouTube channel.
Why is equality data important?
Equality data provides a clearer picture of reality and is therefore essential in the fight against discrimination and inequality. Accurate and complete data provides the foundation for identifying problems and addressing them through a policy based on facts, rather than intuition.
What data are we talking about?
For the IEDCB project, the inventory of existing equality data in Belgium was made for three groups of discrimination criteria:
- 'Racial' criteria: so-called race, skin colour, nationality, descent and national or ethnic origin;
- Philosophical or religious beliefs;
- Sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics.
Contact
Do you have a question or comment about this project? Let us know by sending an email to equal@just.fgov.be or equalitydata@unia.be
We would like to thank the respondents to our survey, the experts we consulted and the members of the advisory committees who supervised this project. The data hub and report would not have been possible without their contributions and involvement.
Downloads
This project was funded by the European Union’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme (2014-2020). The content of this publication represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility. The European Commission does not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.