The language used when talking about data, particularly around representation, often includes phrases like ‘giving voice’. While well-intentioned, this framing reinforces the idea that communities are inherently disenfranchised and don’t have a voice or ways of advocating for themselves (or ourselves if I include myself within those groups). But those communities wouldn’t say they don’t have a voice; instead, what they lack are the resources to produce data that validates their claims. Thus, data should not be understood as a means of giving voice, but rather as a powerful tool for translating lived realities into quantified information that enables advocacy and supports better decision making.
By focusing on the ways that people are using their voice and methods of advocating for the issues that compel them, or us, we legitimize their experiences. Turning their concerns and insights into data isn't an exercise of giving voice; it's about translating their voice into a language that can create change. For advocacy, especially in governance contexts such as multilateral fora, domestic and regional policy demands, the language of numbers is essential.
The language of data in advocacy
This perspective emerged during the first workshop I organized in my project as a Data Values Advocate in 2024. The first encounter in the Situating Data workshop (Situando Datos in Spanish) brought together participants working on data projects ranging from the dynamics of the informal labor market in El Alto in Bolivia, to gender-based violence, forms of resistance in the Colombian Pacific, and more. During the workshop, a tension in how we conceptualize data in advocacy came to light: whether we use data to give voice to communities, or to translate a part of their experiences into a language that can be used for better advocacy and decision making in contexts where numbers are required. For example, one participant stated that the goal of their project was to give voice to the citizenry, but also questioned how communities listen to the data: "Once we give voices to the data and hence to the communities, how are we being listened to?”.
This made me reflect on the role data plays in translating the voice communities already have into something that can be quantified and used for advocacy or decision making. Consequently, the role of data advocates such as myself is not to 'give voice’, but to empower communities through data. This means enabling people to collect data in ways that are meaningful for them and use those data for better advocacy and decision making for communities.
A voice that is heard
The first principle of the Data Values Manifesto is to ‘support people to shape how they are represented in data’. Advancing this depends on empowering communities to advocate for themselves on the issues that are important to them. Our role is to ensure they are heard through the language of data.
