We know that “the differences that make a difference” are not the same in every country. In the US, whether or not you have African ancestry is a major differentiator of race; in Australia the question is rather are you of Aboriginal origin. A cursory scan of the population group questions used in the censuses of various countries around the world illustrates not only the variety of categories but the lack of uniformity in the very concepts of race and ethnicity.

 in fact, most countries don’t use those words at all but refer instead to “ancestry” or “origin” or simply ask “What are you?”, the sensible implication being that we don’t know exactly what determines these categories—biology, geography, history, or culture—but they are important in our society. Many also ask census questions about religion and language, which may in themselves be important ethnic determinants.

Here are examples of population group census questions from several countries.

Australia (2011 census form)

Is the person of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Origin?

What is the person’s ancestry? (Provide up to two)

§         English

§         Irish

§         Scottish

§         Italian

§         German

§         Chinese

§         Australian

§         Other (please specify)

Brazil (2010)

Your color or race is:

§         White (branca)

§         Black (preta)

§         Yellow (amarela)

§         Brown (parda)

§         Indigenous (indígena)

England and Wales (2011)

What is your ethnic group?

§         White

§         Mixed/multiple ethnic groups

§         Asian/Asian British

§         Black/African/Caribbean/Black British

§         Other ethnic group

Under each of the above categories individuals are asked to select a specific ethnicity (e.g., under Asian/Asian British, they might choose among Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese, or other Asian origin).

India (2011)

Is this person SC/ST [scheduled caste/scheduled tribe]?

Mother tongue?

Mexico (2010)

Basic questionnaire:

Do you speak an indigenous dialect or language?

Extended questionnaire:

With regard to culture, do you consider yourself indigenous?

Taiwan (2010)

Indigenous status:

1.Yes

2.No

[If yes:]

(1) Ami

(2) Atayal

(3) Paiwan

(4) Bunun

(5)Puyuma

(6)Tsou

(7) Rukai

(8) Saisiyat

(9) Yami

(10) Others

Despite the impossibility of establishing globally consistent ethnicity categories, many organizations find it useful to collect data about employees’ ethnicity. It allows them, for example, to track employee satisfaction data by ethnic group. In doing so, employers may want to look beyond census categories and work with local resources such as HR partners, diversity councils and employee network groups to identify the categories that are most relevant in each location.