Although data collection efforts play a central role in government decision-making and resource allocation, LGBTQ people largely remain invisible to local, state, and federal officials who make decisions that directly affect their safety and wellbeing. This lack of LGBTQ inclusive data significantly hinders the ability of advocates and policymakers to press for LGBTQ policy and funding priorities, which creates a cycle that harms LGBTQ people in all areas of life. When data collection efforts fail to include sexual orientation and gender identity questions in surveys that collect demographic data, it is difficult to fully understand the challenges LGBTQ people experience.
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Data Equity
Related Resources
Hate Crime Laws: Data Collection
This map shows both what states require hate crimes data collection, and of those states, which specifically require data collection about hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Data Collection
These maps detail states that include questions about sexual orientation and gender identity in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) surveys, respectively.
LGBTQ People
LGBTQ people in the United States have families, work hard to earn a living, pay taxes, and serve their communities and their country. MAP offers a collection of resources addressing the many aspects of LGBTQ people’s lives.
MAP Spotlight: Leveraging Data to Advance LGBTQI+ Equity
This spotlight details MAP's data policy portfolio, which focuses on ensuring that SOGI data are collected, protected, and used by the government in ways that advance evidence-based policymaking, civil rights enforcement, effective service delivery, and intersectional research, while pushing back against efforts to weaken privacy safeguards and misuse data.
LGBTQ Data at the Census Bureau: What’s Changed and Why It Matters
Thiss piece is written by Caroline Medina, MAP’s Senior Advisor for Data Policy and Strategy, and originally appeared in Standard Deviations, a blog published by The Census Project.
One Year In: The Cost of Rolling Back Federal LGBTQ Data
To dig into the impact of the administration’s removal of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) measures, Melanie Klein at dataindex.us sat down with Caroline Medina, MAP’s Senior Advisor for Data Policy and Strategy.
The Federal SOGI Data Landscape Under the Second Trump Administration: One Year In Review
This report reviews recent progress in federal LGBTQ data collection, documents the scope and consequences of current demographic data removals and rollbacks, and outlines strategies and resources to promote accountability and responsible data governance in an increasingly hostile federal environment.
Disappearing Data: Why We Must Stop Trump’s Attempts to Erase Our Communities
This collaborative op-ed comes from Caroline Medina, Director of Policy at The Institute for Health Research & Policy at Whitman-Walker, Naomi Goldberg, Executive Director at the Movement Advancement Project, and Meeta Anand, Senior Director, Census & Data Equity at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
New Survey Reveals Dramatic Changes for LGBTQ Adults Since November 2024
This brief details nationally representative survey data that provide a critical snapshot into the experiences, concerns, and actions of LGBTQ people since the November 2024 election.
New Federal Survey Cuts Intentionally Ignore LGBTQ+ Discrimination
This piece explains why researchers, advocates, and the public must support the routine inclusion of gender identity and sexual orientation questions on these surveys to ensure that all communities are accurately represented, and that public policy reflects the full scope of the populations it serves.
Cutting Through the Noise: An Overview of the President’s First 100 Days
The bottom line is that this administration has moved quickly to dismantle and disrupt the hard work over decades to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination, to provide safe and supportive environments for LGBTQ youth, and to ensure that transgender people can live their lives with safety and joy.
On Transgender Day of Visibility, We Cannot Allow This Administration to Erase Us
This post by Kellan Baker highlights the concerning efforts by the federal government to exclude transgender people in federal research, data collection, and statistical systems.
How State Policy Affects the Well-Being and Relocation of LGBTQ+ Young People
LGBTQ+ young people in states with a lower LGBTQ+ policy index were more likely to cross into another state to access health care or consider moving out of the state altogether compared to those in states with a higher LGBTQ+ policy index.
Administrative Data: Providing Information to Advance Autonomy and Drive Equality
This brief highlights important opportunities for administrative data in the health care context for individuals, for health care systems, and for broader society, and notes that it is critical that administrative data collection systems are examined to ensure inclusivity.
