THE ERASURE OF ROMANI WOMEN IN STATISTICAL DATA:
Limits of the Race versus Gender Approach
By Alexandra Oprea
© Alexandra Oprea, March 17 2003, all rights reserved
Published on www.eumap.org
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The conceptualization of race and gender as separate and even unrelated categories has perpetuated the marginalization of Romani women in the collection of statistical data. Inherent flaws in the exclusive categories in data collection processes underscore the invisibility of Romani women. Race and gender do not exist in isolation. Minority women often experience multiple forms of discrimination as a result of race and gender (1). The marginalization of Romani women must therefore be understood in the context of both racism and sexism (2). Ethnic statistics are necessary, but must be collected in such a way as to reflect the intersection of race and gender. A multi-dimensional approach to the collection of data is an important facet to designing policies and programs to combat institutional discrimination against Romani women.
I develop my paper based on the assumption that disaggregated data on minorities is a necessary tool to successfully combat structural inequality. I echo the opinions of human rights activists who believe that the participation of grassroots activists is an indispensable part of the data collection process (3), and that the collection of data must be clearly linked to the implementation of programs for the benefit of the marginalized community (4). However, I contend that the current data collection approaches are flawed in that they perpetuate the notion of race and gender as mutually exclusive by collecting “gender data” and “ethnic data” separately. This practice, excludes Romani women and other women of color and must be transcended in order to remedy the multiple forms of discrimination facing these women.