A record of attendance cannot tell you who felt welcome.

A list of names proves that people were present, and nothing more. It cannot show who felt out of place, who spoke and was talked over, who came once and did not return. Presence is easy to record and belonging is not, so the easy measure ends up standing in for the one that matters.

If you are responsible for a group, do not read attendance as acceptance. Ask a few people directly what it is like to be there, especially the ones on the edges. And notice who has quietly stopped coming, since that is the signal the register cannot give you.