Disability Data Justice Toolkit
Overview
Data equity is a set of principles and practices that guide the collection and reporting of data so that it is without bias or exclusion; an imperative for public administration.
Data justice is a social movement framework that examines how data reflects and reinforces structural inequalities, emphasizing its unequal impact on different communities. It explores how digital information represents—or omits—marginalized groups and how these communities access information. Data justice informs data governance by exposing and addressing power imbalances in data management. It also promotes equitable design through participatory practices that engage communities and develop alternative infrastructures to empower those historically marginalized.
Disability data justice begins with a critique of all forms of data ableism and prioritizes the democratization of data and digital literacy from the perspective of diverse disability communities. Disability data justice insists on moving beyond mere access to information to the co-production of knowledge, community-based education, and social movement learning.
Newest Release
Mapping the Case for an
AI Justice Ecosystem
As artificial intelligence increasingly shapes how disabled people are assessed, governed, and excluded, a growing body of reports has emerged to address its impacts. Reading these reports together reveals not an AI and disability ecosystem—but the urgent need to build a coordinated, justice-centered one.
Data Dashboards
Let us know of any dashboards you would like to see added
Resources
Citation
Caldwell, K. (2026, January). Reading Between the Reports: Mapping the Case for an AI Justice Ecosystem. Center for Racial and Disability Justice, University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. [Brief].
Citation
Center for Racial and Disability Justice. (2025, October 22). From care to control: Why Trump’s “Making Health Technology Great Again” policy should alarm us all. Medium.
Citation
Caldwell, K., Morgan, J., Jensen, J., & Nesbitt, D. (2025, September 2). RE: Modifications to the regulations implementing Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 [Public comment letter]. U.S. Department of Labor.
Citation
Landes, S. D., Swenor, B. K., Hall, J. P., Forber-Pratt, A. J., Vaitsiakhovich, N., Caldwell, K., Kakara, M., Lefkowitz, D., Myers, A., Popkin, S. J., Reed, N. S., Rothman, E. F., & Salinger, M. (2025). The disability mismatch: the case for a comprehensive disability status measure, Health Affairs Scholar, 3(7). https://doi.org/10.1093/haschl/qxaf137
Disability Data
Justice Collective
We invite scholars, data justice advocates, and community organizers to join us in building the Disability Data Justice Collective—a grassroots initiative committed to reimagining how data is collected, used, and governed in ways that uphold the rights and dignity of disabled people, especially those at the margins. This is an open and evolving space where we will collectively shape the vision, priorities, and strategies of our work, centering disability justice principles and resisting the extractive, oppressive structures that have long defined data systems. Whether you bring research expertise, lived experience, advocacy skills, or just a deep commitment to change, your voice matters here. Together, we’ll co-create a movement for accountable, community-centered data that serves rather than surveils, empowers rather than erases. If this calls to you, come build with us.