The Erasure of Romani Women in Statistical Data: Limits of the Race-Versus-Gender Approach

Alexandra Oprea presents an article based on the assumption that disaggregated data on minorities is a necessary tool to successfully combat structural inequality. She echos the opinions of human rights activists who believe that the participation of grassroots activists is an indispensable part of the data collection process, and that the collection of data must be clearly linked to the implementation of programs for the benefit of the marginalized community.

However, she argues that the current data collection approaches are flawed in that they perpetuate the notion that race and gender are mutually exclusive by collecting “gender data” and “ethnic data” separately. Oprea concludes that this practice, inter alia, excludes Romani women and other minority women, and must be transcended in order to remedy the multiple forms of discrimination facing these women.