The Biden-Harris Administration has released the first-ever Federal Evidence Agenda on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI+) Equity, a roadmap that federal agencies will use to ensure they are collecting the data and evidence they need to improve the lives of LGBTQI+ Americans. This Evidence Agenda delivers on a commitment made by President Biden in a June 2022 Executive Order on LGBTQI+ equality, and is an important step forward in the Administration’s work to expand the federal collection of data about sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics (“SOGI data”), and advance equity for LGTBQI+ Americans.
The Biden Administration has made important progress to advance full inclusion and equal protection for LGBTQI+ Americans. However, the effectiveness of this work has been limited by incomplete information on the number of LGBTQI+ people in the United States, their experiences engaging with federal agencies, and the disparities they face in their daily lives. The Evidence Agenda released today highlights the opportunities to advance LGBTQI+ equity that increased federal data collection and evidence building would create, and provides a roadmap to guide these efforts. Grounded in evidence, the agenda builds on and continues work taking place across federal agencies and integrates knowledge and expertise from numerous community leaders and technical experts both inside and outside the U.S. government.
The Evidence Agenda includes:
- An overview of the priority evidence gaps the Biden-Harris Administration has identified where increased SOGI data collection will support more evidence-informed programs and policies;
- Specific questions that agencies will consider as they seek to build and use evidence to improve the health and well-being of LGBTQI+ people; and
- Important guidelines for collecting SOGI data on forms, such as benefits applications, including the safeguards agencies might use to enable robust SOGI data collection while protecting individual privacy, security, and civil rights.
To download the full report, click on the link below:
Federal Evidence Agenda on LGBTQI+ Equity