Federal agencies will do a better job surveying Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders

While it might be politically convenient to be seen as a collective group under the umbrella of "Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, (AANHPI)," in almost all other cases, the differences between the 70-or-so subgroups of people from Asia and the Pacific region are great enough to require separating those communities from each other.

Last week, tthe US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a set of revisions, the first since 1997, to Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity (SPD 15)— aiming to ensure that federal data on race and ethnicity is more detailed, accurate, and useful, and that the information collected is standardized across federal agencies.

“Today’s OMB announcement is no minor bureaucratic change or maneuver; it’s a once-in-a-generation breakthrough," said Rep. Judy Chu, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. "This update to federal race and ethnicity data standards—earned after years of campaigning by advocates and CAPAC—marks a historic milestone for AANHPI communities."

"Asian American" which was born out of political empowerment of the 1960s, is not helpful when collecting data for the wide-ranging health, economic status, educational needs of the more than70 ethnicities and national origens that make up the so-called AANHPI community.

The disaggregation of the race,  and ethnicity category options across federal agencies ensures that the federal government can more effectively tailor programs and policies to reach underserved populations and serve all of our communities.

The US Census Bureau stated that it will study the OMB directive as it will affect the way the bureau conducts the next Census in 2030 that will include the additional racial and ethnic categories.

Grouping AANHPI communities into a single category often masks the disparities that certain racial or ethnic groups face, including on economic prosperity, health outcomes, home ownership, or educational attainment, and make government programs and services less responsive and effective.

For example, the household wealth gap is greatest within the AANHPI communities. Among Asian American subgroups, Indian Americans have the highest median income ($119,000), followed by Filipino Americans ($90,000), Japanese Americans ($83,000) and Chinese Americans ($82,000). Asian Americans are experiencing faster income inequality growth than other demographic groups, according to the Pew Research Center, as Burmese Americans make a median income of $44,000.

It is safe to assume that the needs and concerns of the upper-income Indian Americans are different from Burmese Americans.

“Race and ethnicity are important factors to understanding patients’ risk factors for disease, their patient experience in the complex health care system, and how providers can provide compassionate and effective care.," said Thu Quach, PhD, AAPCHO board president and president of Asian Health Services, a federally qualified health center in Alameda County, California.

The "issuance of the revisions is merely the first step in the long-awaited modernization of our nation’s race and ethnicity standards. Together with OMB, other agencies, and our partners, we look forward to beginning the substantive work of implementing these revisions,” said Terry Ao Minnis, Vice President of Census and Voting Programs.

“Additionally, further research is needed to better inform the standards, including ensuring the detailed groups used will in fact elicit the best responses across all racial and ethnic groups, such as through proper signaling to the diverse set of detailed subgroups in each category," said John C. Yang, President and Executive Director of Advancing Justice – AAJC.  

"OMB and other agencies must continue meaningful engagement with community groups as they begin to implement these revised standards; continued coordination with advocacy groups will ensure that data are accessible and usable for the broader public—not just federal agencies and experts.”

Community advocates, including Advancing Justice – AAJC, considers data collection and reporting to be the backbone of its mission. The revised standards will help better document the diversity of the Asian American community, who are among our nation’s fastest growing and most diverse racial groups. Often viewed as homogenous, these communities include more than 30 detailed subgroups that can differ dramatically across key social and economic indicators.

Data collected by the federal agencies will caategorized under more racial and ethnic categories, including: Chinese, Asian Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese or another group (for example, Pakistani, Hmong, Afghan). The Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander category will broken down as well: Native Hawaiian, Samoan, Chamorro, Tongan, Fijian, Marshallese or another group (for example, Chuukese, Palauan, Tahitian).

"Requiring the collection of data on Asian American subgroups will contribute to a fuller understanding of our communities, including how to best serve the most marginalized subgroups," saidYang. "This is something we have been advocating for extensively for more than a decade.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the  blog Views From the Edge.