(82) Uncoupling Sex and Gender

Objective: The demographic portion of survey questions are often written in such a way that either conflates sex and gender, or restricts gender identity to a binary structure. This common practice carries many harmful... [ view full abstract ]

Objective: The demographic portion of survey questions are often written in such a way that either conflates sex and gender, or restricts gender identity to a binary structure. This common practice carries many harmful implications as it both reflects an inaccurate understanding of “sex” and “gender” as well as stigmatizes gender and sexual minorities. Perhaps most importantly, it forces gender and sexual minorities to either identify in ways that misrepresent themselves, skip the question, or opt out of the survey altogether. To address these issues, this project will critically review currently recommended best practices for how to write survey questions asking about sex or gender in a way that is inclusive of gender and sexual minorities.

Approach: A review was conducted of the currently recommended best practices for asking questions about gender and sexual identity. The compiled recommendations were critically considered in light of potential problems they might cause in the areas of respondent burden, language accessibility, and political connotations.

Recommendations: Structurally, a two-step approach was found to offer the most inclusivity for gender and sexual minorities. Linguistically, recommendations vary based on characteristics of the sample population such as age, education level, and geographic location. Findings will be presented and discussed with consideration of applying these standards to groups which have varied experience with and exposure to the topics of gender and sexual identity.