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Race / Ethnicity Definitions

The following list contains the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission definitions for various racial and ethnic identities.

White

Not of Hispanic origin: all persons having origins in any of the original people of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East.

Black

Not of Hispanic origin; all persons having origins in any of the black racial groups in Africa.

Hispanic

All persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. Only those persons of Central or South American countries who are of Spanish origin, descent or culture should be included in this classification. (Persons from Brazil, Guyana, Surinam or Trinidad, for example, would be classified according to their race and would not necessarily be included in the Hispanic classification. In addition, this classification does not include persons from Portugal who should be classified according to race.)

Asian or Pacific Islander

All persons having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands. This area includes, for example, China, Japan, Korea, the Philippine Islands and Samoa. The Indian Subcontinent takes in the countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan.

American Indian or Alaskan Native

All persons having origins in any of the original peoples of North America, and who maintain cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community recognition. ​

Page last updated: May 10, 2016