Across Scotland, voluntary organisations working with Black and racially minoritised communities are operating under immense pressure. They are expected to deliver vital services, respond to widening inequalities, and make the case for continued funding – yet they are doing so within a data landscape that is not built to recognise or represent the communities they serve. While these organisations hold deep knowledge of discrimination, exclusion and unmet need, their insights are too often dismissed because the statistical evidence required to “prove” their experiences simply does not exist or is inaccessible.
This project emerged in direct response to that challenge. It set out to understand how data gaps shape the work of equality-focused charities in Scotland, and to support them with tailored analysis from the 2022 Census. By working closely with regional equality councils, the project sought not only to uncover the systemic barriers created by poor-quality ethnicity data, but also to demonstrate what becomes possible when organisations are equipped with the evidence they need.
At its heart, this work speaks to a broader issue: the inequitable burden placed on Black and racially minoritised communities to repeatedly justify the realities they live every day. When official statistics fail to capture these realities, it becomes easier for funders and policymakers to overlook them – and harder for communities to have their experiences taken seriously. This project aims to challenge that dynamic by strengthening the evidence base, validating lived experience, and advocating for a more just and coherent approach to data in Scotland.
Through this research, Sholen Macpherson and Lucien Staddon Foster, share not only what they learned, but why improving Scotland’s ethnicity data – and empowering the organisations who rely on it – is essential to tackling structural inequality and ensuring that no community is rendered invisible in the systems meant to support them.
About the authors:
Sholen Macpherson
Sholen Macpherson is a researcher with a background in sociology and social policy. Based in Glasgow, she works for a Scottish anti-racism charity, where she uses quantitative and qualitative research methods to inform policy and practice. Sholen holds a postgraduate degree in Social Policy (Research Methods) from the University of Strathclyde and previously studied Sociology at the University of Glasgow.
Lucien Staddon Foster
Lucien Staddon Foster is a race equality researcher with experience in data analysis, mapping structural inequalities, and supporting anti-racist policy development. He studied Geography at the University of Edinburgh and has previously worked with RACE.ED, a network focused on academic research around race and racism. Lucien is currently based in Glasgow, working in the voluntary sector to support evidence-informed approaches to equality.
Outside of the Jane Hatfield Award, which was completed independently, Lucien and Sholen work for the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER) – a Scottish anti-racism charity based in Glasgow. Lucien and Sholen designed and delivered this project in their own time as early-career researchers within the remit of the Jane Hatfield Award, and their work on this is in no way affiliated with their roles and responsibilities with CRER. Unless stated otherwise, all opinions, reflections and contributions relating to this project are attributed to them as individuals.
