In June, President Biden signed Executive Order 14075, which required the co-chairs of the Interagency Working Group on Equitable Data to establish a subcommittee focused specifically on sexual orientation, gender identity, and variations in sex characteristics (SOGISC) data. This body, tasked with developing a Federal Evidence Agenda on LGBTQI+ Equity, issued a request for information (RFI) through the Office of Science and Technology Policy, asking stakeholders to share their perspectives.
FCCP and the Census Equity Initiative submitted a letter on why expanded and enhanced SOGISC data collection is critical to advance inclusion of SOGI questions to the American Community Survey and the decennial census. Further, collecting SOGI data will enable the federal and state governments, businesses, nonprofits, researchers, philanthropy and others to better understand the demographic characteristics and life experiences of the LGBTQI+ population, which can ultimately lead to more effective interventions to address inequities and discrimination across a range of services, including healthcare, housing, education, and democratic participation.
Download the letter below.