The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has recently made substantial changes to federal race and ethnicity reporting categories, which promise to refine the agency’s data collection and reporting methods. One substantial change is the introduction of “Middle Eastern or North African” (MENA) as a newly recognized category.
Previously, individuals of MENA descent were typically obligated to identify as “White” on forms; this new category will aid in providing a more accurate representation. Alongside the inclusion of MENA, the Office of Management and Budget’s finalized revisions include a modification that allows for the use of a single combined race and ethnicity question accepting multiple responses. The purpose of this development is largely to modify how Hispanic people are identified and counted, taking them out of a separate ethnic category.
These long-awaited alterations are expected to have significant repercussions for the agency’s data collection. It is likely that the EEOC will hold hearings on the creation of these updated categories as part of their implementation process.