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The LGBTQI* challenge: How to include sexual and gender minorities in general population, longitudinal and cross-national surveys? 1 |
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| Session Organisers | Mrs Lisa de Vries (Bielefeld University) Dr Mirjam Fischer (University of Cologne) Professor Stephanie Steinmetz (Universities of Lausanne and Amsterdam) |
| Time | Tuesday 18 July, 11:00 - 12:30 |
| Room | U6-23 |
The ongoing public debate and rising legal acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, queer, and inter* people increased the visibility of LGBTQI* people in the last decades. In addition, scientific studies from various disciplines increasingly examine the living and working conditions of LGBTQI* people across countries.
Nevertheless, LGBTQI* people are still rarely represented in general population surveys and recent data lacks longitudinal and cross-national perspectives. In many countries, even the amount of LGBTQI* people in the whole population cannot be estimated. Recent developments tried to fill these data gaps by i) integrating questions about sexual orientation and gender identity in general population surveys, ii) identifying same-sex couples in register and census data, or iii) integrating new sampling strategies to reach LGBTQI* people. However, these new approaches pose several methodical challenges for researchers and survey institutes.
This session bundles several methodical issues about including LGBTQI* people in general population, longitudinal and cross-national surveys, and invites researchers as well as employees from survey institutes and census bureaus to discuss recent developments and issues.
Relevant topics include (but are not limited to):
• Identify same-sex, bisexual or transgender people in surveys and register data
• Methods of weighting or alignment to integrate LGBTQI* respondents in general population surveys
• Harmonization of changes in gender and sexuality measurements in panel studies over time
• Sampling strategies and new approaches to reach LGBTQI* people for different types of surveys
• Dealing with small group sizes in statistical analyses
Keywords: Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, General Population Surveys, Longitudinal Surveys, Cross-National Surveys
Dr Kristen Miller (National Center for Health Statistics) - Presenting Author
In 2022, the National Center for Health Statistics conducted a series of studies to understand question response processes related to the collection of gender as a non-binary construct. The work consisted of both cognitive interviewing studies as well as split-sample experiments involving different question design elements. Additionally, the work consisted of several applied research studies to specifically develop a single non-binary item for a variety of data collection systems, including the U.S. Passport, the State Department’s employee management system, and NCHS’s population-based health surveys. This presentation describes the various studies and discusses more broadly how the concepts of purpose, context, privacy along with the need for inclusion, should inform the ways in which the Federal government asks about gender.
Ms Lisa de Vries (Bielefeld University) - Presenting Author
Dr Mirjam Fischer (Goethe University Frankfurt)
Mr David Kasprowski (DIW Berlin)
Improved social acceptance and legal recognition of gender minorities in many Western countries as well as ongoing public debate increased the visibility and improved living circumstances of gender minorities in the last years. In light of recent developments, German surveys increasingly integrate non-binary sex/gender items into their questionnaires and try to improve the data situation about gender minorities. This improvement comes along with several possibilities but also challenges for current research. In the last years, we integrated different non-binary sex/gender items into two datasets. First, we integrated a nationwide boost sample of sexual and gender minority households (Sample Q) into one of the largest longitudinal household surveys worldwide, the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). Second, we conducted an LGBTQI*-Community online survey (LGBielefeld) in the years 2019 and 2021 with about 7,000 respondents for each year. This survey was conducted parallel to the 2019 SOEP in order to allow for comparisons between the two surveys. Based on our experiences our paper compares different approaches to measuring gender and strategies to identify gender minorities in surveys (e.g., 2-step approach and 3-step approach to identify transgender respondents; items with varying numbers of close-ended answer categories to measure gender; an open-ended question to measure gender). We compare these different strategies in terms of their ability accurately to identify gender minorities, their item non-response rates, their reception by respondents, and their efficiency (e.g., response time, effort in data preparation/coding). Our experience with the different measures and their careful comparison will serve as a guide for survey providers and survey users when making decisions about item design or coding decisions of secondary data.
Professor Stephanie Steinmetz (FORS and University of Lausanne) - Presenting Author
Dr Verena Ortmanns (German Institute for Adult Education - Leibniz Centre for Lifelong Learning)
There is an increasing interest among survey providers and population registers/census bureaus to better account for the reality of gender diversity in their data collections. 39 out of 47 Council of Europe member countries currently have a legal gender recognition procedure in place that provides trans and gender-nonconforming people with some degree of legal gender recognition. Therefore, it is important to discuss this inclusion in data collections. Addressing gender diversity in a survey poses challenges to the survey design and instruments on respondents’ sex and gender identity. It might also affect respondents’ answer behavior on other questions.
Against this background, this paper aims at answering the question what are the consequences of adding a third sex designation (e.g. ‘diverse’) for survey quality (item/unit non response, drop out) as well as response patterns on attitudinal gender and non-gender-related questions? Based on probability-based Swiss sample, which has been collected in the framework of the MOSAiC module 2022 on ‘Family and Changing Gender Roles’ we implemented an innovative experimental design which allows us to shed light on these under researched aspects. The expected findings are not only scientifically relevant, but will also contribute to the ongoing societal debate on this topic in Switzerland on whether and how to better recognize transgender and non-binary people. To our knowledge, this is the first study examining in more detail the advantages and challenges related to integrating gender diversity, especially with regard to the question of respondents’ sex, in a representative Swiss population survey. Accounting for the regional diversity within Switzerland, we might even arrive at some new insights.