Equality and non-discrimination statistics - overview

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This article provides background information on equality and non-discrimination statistics. It starts with an overview of the policy issues, continues with an explanation of the various dimensions of equality (grounds of discrimination) and a presentation of statistical domains and indicators, and finishes with an explanation of some of the challenges linked to data collection.

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Background: policy and statistics

Equality in the treaties

The European Union (EU) is founded on respect for equality and human rights, permitting the basic principles of pluralism, tolerance and solidarity to prevail, while eliminating discrimination.

In the Treaty on European Union, 2 articles are of particular relevance for this subject.

Article 2 states that the EU is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail.
Article 3 states that the EU shall combat social exclusion and discrimination, and shall promote social justice and protection, equality between women and men, solidarity between generations and protection of the rights of the child.

In the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), 3 articles are of particular relevance for this subject.

Article 10 states that the EU shall aim to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.
Article 18 states that discrimination on grounds of nationality shall be prohibited.
Article 19 grants the power to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. These are the 6 grounds of discrimination.

Equal treatment directives

Protection against discrimination is also subject to equal treatment directives, such as the Racial Equality Directive and the Employment Equality Directive.

A Union of Equality

The European Commission strives to build a Union of Equality, where all people can live free from discrimination. To do so, the European Commission adopted several strategies, for example

Equality in the United Nations’ sustainable development goals

The United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a call for action by all countries to promote prosperity while protecting the planet.

SDG 5 aims to achieve gender equality by ending all forms of discrimination, violence and any harmful practices against women and girls. It also calls for the full participation of women and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making.
More generally, SDG 10 aims to reduce inequality within and among countries. For example, this concerns reducing income inequalities, promoting inclusion, ensuring equal opportunities / ending discrimination and enhancing representation.
Finally, SDG16 aims to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.

A Human Rights Based Approach to Data – Leaving no one Behind in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provides general guidance focusing on data collection and disaggregation.

Equality and non-discrimination statistics in the EU

The EU’s statistics on equality and non-discrimination are

based on the grounds of discrimination identified in the EU treaties and EU equality policies
used to monitor gender gaps and systemic barriers which diverse groups face and to measure developments for equal opportunities and greater equity for all
defined in broad terms in the European handbook on equality data as any piece of information that is useful for the purposes of describing and analysing the state of equality
strongly embedded in the framework of non-discrimination, defined as any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference or other differential treatment that has the intention or effect of nullifying or impairing human rights and fundamental freedoms.

As well as specifically being an important component of policymaking and monitoring, statistics on equality and non-discrimination are of interest to non-governmental organisations and the general public. Their availability increases transparency and human rights, helps assess the position of who is at higher risk of discrimination and disadvantage, and facilitates monitoring and evaluating progress.

Equality and non-discrimination dimensions and key concepts

The 6 grounds of discrimination that are at the basis of the EU’s equality and non-discrimination statistics are described in the European handbook on equality data.

Sex is a basic concept, an individual‐level characteristic commonly recorded in censuses, surveys and administrative records. As a core social variable ^[1], it is defined as the biological and physiological characteristics that define a person to be either male or female. This classification could be extended to include intersex as a third category. Sex and gender are often used interchangeably. Gender is a multidimensional construct that links gender identity (a core element of a person’s individual sense of self), gender expression, and social and cultural expectations about status, characteristics, and behaviour that are associated with sex traits. Gender exists independently of sex, and an individual’s gender does not always correspond with the sex assigned at birth ^[2].
Age in years is often defined as the age in terms of the number of completed years, in other words, the age at a person’s most recent birthday ^[3]. For broader age groups than individual years, it is useful to disaggregate a population by the age groups that are most concerned by biases and suffer from age discrimination.
Disability is a complex, evolving and multi-dimensional concept. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) defines persons with disabilities as those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. The World Health Organization provides a model of disability that builds on 3 dimensions of human functioning: impairments (physical or mental conditions people have that impact their body function or structure), activity limitations (activities people can or cannot do, for example, difficulties in communicating) and participation restrictions (what people actually do in various aspects of life, for example, denied employment because of employer’s prejudice regarding mental health problems). The global activity limitation indicator (GALI) is a disability measure used in all EU social sample surveys coordinated by Eurostat allowing a disability disaggregation for any indicator. More information on disability statistics can be found in the disability statistics articles on Eurostat’s website.
Ethnicity (or racial origin) is multidimensional and can be measured using a variety of concepts, including ethnic ancestry or origin, ethnic identity, cultural origins, nationality, race, colour, minority status, tribe, language, religion or various combinations of these concepts. The UN Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses guidance note broadly defines ethnicity as a concept based on a shared understanding of history and territorial origins (regional and national) of an ethnic group or community, as well as on cultural characteristics such as language or religion. Self-identification is an important principle in the definition of ethnicity.
Religion can be defined as a set of beliefs and practices, usually involving acknowledgment of a divine or higher being, power or principle, by which people order the conduct of their lives both practically and in a moral sense ^[4]. A person’s relationship with a church or religious community may be expressed, for example, by membership, attendance/observance, belief (whether practiced or not), self-identification or upbringing.
Sexual orientation refers to how one finds oneself feeling drawn (or not drawn) to another person in a sexual and/or romantic way. This encompasses emotional, affectional, and sexual attraction to, and intimate and sexual relations with, individuals of a different gender or the same gender or more than one gender. The three aspects most commonly measured when identifying sexual orientation are sexual attraction, sexual behaviour, and sexual identity ^[5].

Current work within the European Statistical System focuses on improving the guidelines for the collection of harmonised equality and non-discrimination statistics across the EU.

Eurostat disseminates data disaggregated by sex as well as several derived indicators such as the gender pay gap. Most of Eurostat’s social statistics are disseminated by age groups; in the context of non-discrimination, the focus is often on younger or older people as they are most likely to suffer from age discrimination. Concerning disability, Eurostat presents data on people with activity limitations as regards the enjoyment of equal opportunities and access to different areas of life. With respect to racial and ethnic origin, Eurostat provides data for analyses on citizenship and country of birth; for the latter, some data are available not only for a person’s own country of birth, but also that of their parents, providing statistics on people with a foreign background. While religion and sexual orientation are considered within the context of Eurostat’s work on equality, currently there are no harmonised statistics broken down according to these grounds. However, there are data on perceived discrimination based on these grounds.

Providing data disaggregated for grounds of discrimination makes it possible to identify inequalities according to a single dimension. However, there is a need for intersectional statistics that would shed light on situations in which different grounds of discrimination intersect or act in combination with each another.

Domains and indicators

Equality and non-discrimination statistics cover several key domains which reflect different areas in life that are important to people. Available socio-economic indicators cover demography, education, labour market participation and earnings, income and living conditions, health, and participation in society. Additionally, Eurostat publishes indicators related to the experience of discrimination and personal security. The thematic section of Eurostat’s website dedicated to equality and non-discrimination allows users to explore various indicators disaggregated by key equality dimensions in the different domains.

These statistics help identify disparities and recognise areas where specific groups may face disadvantages. The thematic section combines data from various statistical collections, presenting a comprehensive resource for exploration and analysis.

In the context of equality, data and indicators are disseminated by Eurostat on the following domains.

Population and demography: these indicators include information on the prevalence of the different groups at risk of discrimination, fertility, mortality and life expectancy.
Income and living conditions: these indicators provide comprehensive insights into the economic and social conditions across EU countries, informing on issues of poverty, inequality and social inclusion. This domain includes statistical indicators, among others, on income inequalities, poverty, social exclusion, housing conditions and affordability, health conditions, childcare arrangements, access to services and work intensity. The main source for these statistics is EU statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC). Additional data on social protection come from administrative sources (ESSPROS).
Health: these statistics measure objective and subjective aspects of people’s health. They focus on public health as well as health and safety at work. The data cover the following main topics: health status, health determinants, health care, causes of death, accidents at work, work-related health problems and exposure to risk factors, and occupational diseases. These data come from a variety of sources, including administrative data and social surveys.
Labour market and earnings: this domain includes indicators on different aspects related to work
- Participation in the labour market: this highlights differences between various groups in terms of employment and unemployment rates; the quality and conditions of employment; sectoral and occupational segregation. The main data source is the EU labour force survey (EU-LFS).
- Earnings: results from the structure of earnings survey (SES) provide information on relationships between earnings, employees (for example, by sex, age or occupation) and their employers (for example, by size or economic activity). It highlights pay gaps and the prevalence of low pay for different groups of workers.
- Caring responsibilities and the impact on the participation in the labour market: data are compiled from EU-SILC and EU-LFS.
Education and training: data on participation in education and skills come from different sources, including the UNESCO-UIS-OECD-Eurostat data collection; the EU labour force survey (EU-LFS) and the adult education survey (AES). In addition, information on digital skills and competencies comes from the information and communication technology survey (ICT).
Participation in society
- Political and management representation: data are available for women’s participation in senior management positions and in national parliaments and governments.
- Digital economy and society: including information on internet access and use of e-commerce and e-government.
Experience of discrimination and personal security which provide insights into the extent and nature of self-perceived discrimination, overall safety and security of different population groups.
- Experience of discrimination: data concerning labour market discrimination are from a multi-annual module of the EU-labour force survey, data on discrimination in cities come from a multi-annual perception survey of urban residents, and data concerning hostile or degrading online messages are from a 2023 module of digital economy and society statistics.
- Gender-based violence: data are from the EU survey on gender-based violence against women and other forms of inter-personal violence. More information is available from the gender-based violence dedicated section.
- Crime and criminal justice: data are collected from various sources, such as the police, prosecution services and courts. Eurostat’s data collection is implemented jointly with the United Nations Surveys on Crime Trends and the Operations of Criminal Justice implemented by the UN Office on Drug and Crime. Data are available on victims and perpetrators of crimes. More information is available from a thematic section.
- Human trafficking: data are collected from various sources, such as the police or other authorities (to identify the victims), prosecution services and courts. Data are available on victims and perpetrators of crimes. More information is available from a thematic section.

Note that more detailed information can be found in the sections of Eurostat's website dedicated to disability as well as migration and asylum.

As well as these subject-oriented domains, statistics on equality are part of the monitoring of EU policy initiatives, such as the Sustainable Development Goals and the European Pillar of Social Rights. In the context of equality, policy-related indicators are disaggregated by key equality dimensions, which thereby help to identify disparities and recognise areas where specific groups may face disadvantages.

Challenges to data collection

The collection, compilation and dissemination of equality and discrimination data face methodological challenges common to many statistical domains as well as problems more specific to this particular domain. Equality and discrimination phenomena can be subtle and complex. Particular difficulties include

a lack of generally accepted definitions and categorisations, leading to (mis)interpretation/understanding of terminology, potentially for survey respondents, administrative record keepers and for data users,
incomplete coverage of survey frames,
the need for large samples to achieve representative results for smaller, potentially vulnerable groups,
the sensitivity of some questions (and related privacy issues) leading to a risk of under-reporting as well as an elevated risk of inaccurate replies (inadvertently or deliberately),
practical difficulties of contacting some potentially vulnerable groups, for reasons of language barriers or access to survey infrastructure (for example, an address or telephone).

Notes

↑ More details can be found in the implementing guidelines for Regulation (EU) 2019/1700.
↑ Further details on the definition of gender and gender identity can be found in the Guidance note on the collection and use of data for LGBTIQ equality.
↑ More details can be found in the implementing guidelines for Regulation (EU) 2019/1700.
↑ Conference of European Statisticians recommendations for the 2020 Censuses of Population and Housing.
↑ Guidance note on the collection and use of data for LGBTIQ equality.