Social inequality and data sciences:the case of Germany

No doubt, the Covid-19 pandemic reminded us how much modern societies depend on the provision of scientific data — not just for the healthcare system but for all areas of public policy-making. We witnessed how difficult it was for decision-makers across the globe to make uncertain decisions without sufficient evidence. As frequently noted, the lack of scientific data was particularly a problem for the most disadvantaged members of our societies. As a recent EU report (EU 2021:11) concluded: "The Covid-19 pandemic has shown a significant impact on equality all over the globe: those already most at risk of discrimination and inequality (people with protected categories such as older people, persons with disabilities, members of ethnic minorities) were and are at far greater risk of falling ill or dying from the virus. Yet, in most EU countries, officially available health statistics on Covid-19 could not be (fully) disaggregated, in particular by racial or ethnic origin. This had a detrimental effect on the effectiveness of protective measures to curb the spread of the virus.”