This report marks the OECD’s first standalone analysis of whether racism undermines the lives of significant segments of national populations and explores which data can be used to measure its impact and assess the effectiveness of anti-racism efforts. It was developed in collaboration with the European Commission, as part of a broader EU initiative to combat racism, launched with the EU Anti-Racism Action Plan 2020‑25 encouraging EU countries to implement National Action Plans Against Racism (NAPARs). In this context, the report aims to support countries in monitoring and evaluating their NAPARs, building on previous ELS work focused on the rigorous impact evaluation of anti-discrimination policies, including school-based initiatives to combat homo- and transphobia (Fighting Homophobia and Transphobia in Schools, 2023) and efforts to promote freedom of conscience and religion – an essential step in reducing discrimination against religious minorities (The Benefits of Learning the Difference Between Facts and Faith, 2024).
The report begins with a comprehensive review of academic research, examining how bias-driven discrimination against visible minorities restricts opportunities in education, school-to-work transition, employment, housing, and health. It then proposes indicators to measure this discrimination and offers guidance on expanding data collection on visible minorities to enhance the monitoring of anti-racism efforts.
This report was written by Marie‑Anne Valfort under the supervision of Stefano Scarpetta (Director of ELS), Mark Pearson (Deputy Director of ELS), Monika Queisser (Head of the Social Policy Division) and Jean-Christophe Dumont (Head of the International Migration Division), with valuable technical and research assistance provided by Marc Folch and Valeria Silva Gomez.
We are deeply grateful to Michaela Moua (EU Anti-racism Co‑ordinator of the European Commission) and Tanja Florath (Non-discrimination: Anti-Racism and Roma Co‑ordination in Directorate D – Equality & Non-Discrimination of the Directorate‑General for Justice and Consumers) for their consistently constructive and insightful feedback, as well as their unwavering support throughout this project. We are also strongly indebted to Domenica Ghidei Biidu (European Commission against Racism and Intolerance), Rossalina Latcheva (European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights), Thomas Liebig (OECD – ELS), Katerina Toura (Policy Officer at the Greek Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports), participants of the 146th meeting of the OECD Employment Labour and Social Affairs Committee, of the 10th NAPAR subgroup meeting, and of the Joint EU-OECD Workshop on “Monitoring and Assessing the Impact of National Action Plans Against Racism” for their thoughtful comments and enlightening insights on an earlier version of this report. Hanna Varkki prepared the manuscript for publication.
The OECD gratefully acknowledges the financial support by the European Commission towards the preparation of this study.