If somalis get their own category we’ll just be further exposed
It’s all that ”somalis are not black” talk going on. Who cares if we’re black or not at the end of the day we know we’re somali. So i’d just say click in black african and go on with your day. you said it too why are we just a few 100k people getting our own category it’s weird.tbh it wouldn’t make sense for Somalis to get their own category unless other Africans get one as well.
Looks like there won't be a box per se, but a easier method of identifying yourself
Ethnic group tick-box prioritisation report for Census 2021 in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics
Assessment to determine the most appropriate response categories for the ethnic group question in Census 2021.www.ons.gov.uk
Somali
Background
In the 2011 Census in England and Wales, 45,475 wrote in their ethnic group as “Somali”.
Criterion: Strength of user need (Step 1)
There is strong evidence that there is a need to understand data from ethnic “Somali” populations. Evidence suggested this population is experiencing significant disadvantage in several areas of life, including employment, housing, health and education. There is also evidence that Somalis are of particular policy interest. Respondents to the ONS stakeholder engagement exercises stated that:
“In Tower Hamlets, we require information specifically about the Somali population… we have used proxy data, using country of birth data from the 2011 Census, to profile the first-generation Somali population. This analysis has quantified the severe disadvantage this population faces, in terms of poorer outcomes across employment, housing, health and education. For example, only one third of the working age Somali-born population were in employment in 2011, compared with almost two thirds of the borough population (34 vs. 64 %)…Having Census data on the (ethnically) Somali population, would allow the Council to… undertake policy evaluation: i.e. evaluate the success of policies and actions, which aim to target the poor outcomes the Somali population faces.” London Borough of Tower Hamlets
There is also some evidence that the Somali population is of particular interest for service planning and delivery, with stakeholders stating:
“The statistics help to justify equalities monitoring when we record who uses services provided by the council or commissioned providers [ ] to see if there are different levels of service uptake or differential outcomes e.g. health, sexual assault and hate crime. Ethnic group statistics are also used as a predictor of future needs (particularly health needs). There are currently no alternative sources for this information.” Bristol City Council
Criterion: Lack of alternative sources (Step 2)
Without a “Somali” tick-box, some Somali residents may write in “Somali” under the ethnic group question, while others may select the “African” or “Arab” tick-boxes. Those that write in are likely to write the same response in the same location (in 2011 most used the “Any other Black/African/Caribbean background” write-in option). Write-in answers could be used as an alternative data source about Somali communities. However, as some who could identify as ethnically Somali may also select other identities, the estimate may not fully meet the needs of data users.
No other census question could be used as an accurate proxy for the Somali population. Based on the 45,475 respondents in the 2011 Census who identified as Somali in the ethnic group write-in responses, only 53% were captured by the main language question, which offers the best proxy, while country of birth captured 49%. The fact that the Somali population is entering second and third generations causes proxy data on main language and country of birth to be even less useful as an estimate of the size of the ethnically Somali population.
Criterion: Data quality of information (Step 2)
Without a “Somali” ethnic group tick-box, some respondents, who wish to identify as Somali, may be unsure of where to answer, reducing the quality of information collected. In the 2011 Census, 83% of Somalis who wrote in did so under “Any other Black/African/Caribbean background” and 14% wrote in under “Any other ethnic group” within the high-level “Other ethnic group” category. As the majority of those that identified as Somali (that is, those who wrote in) wrote in the same place, this can provide some useful data.
However, testing shows that many Somalis do not write in a specific African identity and may tick the “African” tick-box (2018:13). This could reduce the granularity of the data and not provide data users with the level of detail they have requested.
Criteria: Comparability with 2011 Census data (Step 2)
Inclusion of a dedicated “Somali” tick-box could affect comparisons over time; however, the size of this shift is likely to be small in the higher-level categories. In 2011, most (83%) Somalis who wrote in did so under “Any other Black/African/Caribbean background”. Some Somalis (14%) wrote in under “Any other ethnic group”, within the “Other ethnic group” high-level category. The addition of a “Somali” tick-box could therefore cause people to shift from the “Other ethnic group” high-level category to the new Somali tick-box, most likely located in the “Black, Black British, Caribbean or African” high-level category.
Somali tick-box overall scoring exercise (Step 2)
The Somali tick-box scored a weighted score of 13.5. This was considered a strong enough case to consider further testing to evaluate acceptability, clarity and quality (Step 3).
Criteria: Acceptability, clarity and quality (Step 3)
Focus groups, commissioned by the ONS, found that the inclusion of a Somali tick-box, without other African ethnicity tick-boxes, was viewed as unacceptable by some participants. The singling out of Somali for a tick-box raised suspicions about why this was being asked and resulted in participants feeling they had to choose between being African or Somali. Within further engagement with community groups and stakeholders there was a strong consensus that better data for the ethnically Somali population is needed. Stakeholders also raised similar concerns that the inclusion of a Somali tick-box, without other African tick-boxes, could raise suspicions and lead to lack of clarity with how to answer.
As a tick-box was viewed as unacceptable by some research participants, the user need for data is high and there is no good proxy data available, we reviewed the “Black, African, Caribbean or Black British” higher-level category to consider the possibility of collecting more information on the Somali population alongside other African identities.
We conducted cognitive testing (2018:30) of new question versions among respondents who identify with “Black British”, “African”, “Caribbean” or “Somali”. This provided evidence on the best way to obtain more detailed data on ethnically Somali individuals. Census 2021 will provide an option for those selecting “African” to allow people to write in specific African ethnicities within the high-level “Black, Black British, Caribbean or African” category.
Additional evidence was provided through our Ethnic Group Assurance Panel, which added more weight to the need for more detailed information for the “Black African” ethnic group. This solution to the collection of “Somali” data will also meet this need to provide a further breakdown of African ethnicities.
Somali tick-box overall evaluation (Step 4)
We do not recommend the inclusion of a separate “Somali” tick-box. We recommend the inclusion of a write-in option for those selecting “African” within the high-level “Black, African, Caribbean or Black British” category. This will allow all those who select “African” to specify their ethnic background further.
uno theyre paying you 14-20 pounds an hour if you apply to help do the census in your area
i think its a few days but i applied for the april to june onehow do I apply I would do weekends
I work so I’ll send this to my younger siblings loli think its a few days but i applied for the april to june one
Census officer jobs - temporary job - Office for National Statistics
Are you interested in working on behalf of the Census 2021? If so, discover our census officer roles here and apply today.www.censusjobs.co.uk
Sounds nice for 14 to 20 quids, a quick make of money during lockdown. I would apply but the main responsibilities that includes on knocking on doors sounds a bit creepy and issue can arise, especially in chav areasuno theyre paying you 14-20 pounds an hour if you apply to help do the census in your area
No risk no reward but you can always lie about your area and make it posh cadaan placesSounds nice for 14 to 20 quids, a quick make of money during lockdown. I would apply but the main responsibilities that includes on knocking on doors sounds a bit creepy and issue can arise, especially in chav areas
I'm glad someone is able to read between the lines, its not a good idea to showcase ourselves like this. Somalis there could potentially lose benefits there as well, just like what happened hereStatisctics can be easily used wrongly. To me, this decision to have a separate box is due to emotion, not logic. We know the issues in our community. This will not help us solve them. Instead the media will use the statistic for their agenda and this will not be good for somalis.
Statisctics can be easily used wrongly. To me, this decision to have a separate box is due to emotion, not logic. We know the issues in our community. This will not help us solve them. Instead the media will use the statistic for their agenda and this will not be good for somalis.
Somali's benefit from a lot of things whether it's in education/healthcare/community funding because they're 'black'. Losing out on that because of some emotional nationalists would be terrible.