Work by the Government Statistical Service (GSS) harmonisation team to develop new standards for sex and also for gender identity data collection is underway with a series of listening events beginning next month. Emma Rourke explains the aims for these events and how the insights gathered will support the growing evidence base for data collection on these topics.
In December last year, the GSS harmonisation team, based within ONS, set out its high-level plans for how it would go about developing agreed harmonised standards on the separate topics of sex and gender identity, putting respondent centred design at the heart of their work.
This team works with statistical producers across the UK to support standards for a wide range of topics, ranging from business and employment to quality of life. Drawing on a range of tools, they take a ‘Gold’ approach to question design using an internationally recognised methodology.
Ultimately this work aims to support the effective comparison of data that has been collected across different datasets and in different ways, whether that’s survey or administrative based data collection.
Gathering insights
We are now preparing to begin an extensive programme of engagement to build a robust and detailed understanding of user and respondent needs on the topics of sex and gender identity at the earliest stage of this work. At five listening events in Manchester, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast and London, we will hear from data users, statistical producers and respondents to gather their insights over the next two months. We hope to hear a diverse range of views and explore stakeholder needs for questions and data on these topics.
There will be further deep-dive requirements sessions to come in this discovery phase as we want to make sure we hear a range of user and respondent voices. Part of the work will include qualitative research to understand how different groups of respondents conceptualise the topics of sex and gender identity.
Evidence-based decisions
The findings from this discovery stage will be published later this year and will directly inform our next steps, namely decisions about designing prototype questions to be tested, refined based on feedback and tested again with a range of people.
This iterative approach, with the needs of users and the feedback from respondents at the core, should result in final harmonised standards that are effective, fit for purpose, and meet the needs of statistical producers, data users, and future participants in survey or administrative-based data collection.
Growing evidence base
During the secondary ‘alpha’ phase we will also carry out further testing with examples of question wording, including those used for the England and Wales Census 2021 and Scotland’s Census 2022, within the context of changing social norms and respondent and user needs.
The latest analysis from the ONS, published today provides additional guidance on the appropriate use of the gender identity estimates from Census 2021 in England and Wales and information on the uncertainty associated with them. This includes comparisons with estimates for Scotland also published today.
The latest research shows Census 2021 gender identity estimates can provide a broad indication of the size of the trans population in England and Wales and insights into some characteristics, including age and housing. However, it also confirms patterns in our data suggest that some respondents may not have interpreted the Census 2021 gender identity question as intended and therefore may have unintentionally responded as trans, most notably those with lower levels of English language proficiency.
While there is uncertainty related to all census statistics (including, for example, people not responding, which stands at 6.0% for this voluntary question), the potential misinterpretation of the gender identity question adds extra uncertainty. This is particularly impactful here as when looking at a small population, such as the trans population, a small percentage of inaccurate responses, can have a relatively large impact on the estimates of trans people.
These uncertainties mean the estimates should not be used for detailed comparisons between local areas or for certain characteristics, nor should they be used as precise estimates of the trans population to support service delivery.
These additional insights will feed into the growing understanding of the strengths and limitations of different approaches to collecting data on these topics and the GSS harmonisation work. Another source of learning will be the experience from other countries and their census data collections, and the independent report published last week by the Department of Science Innovation and Technology, the Review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender.
The approach is in line with recommendations from the Inclusive Data Taskforce and the recent independent report into the first UK Statistics Assembly
I look forward to updating on our work as the GSS publish findings regularly throughout the development cycle.
If you would like to receive information about the upcoming events or to keep in touch on this work, please email outreach.engagement.community@ons.gov.uk
Emma Rourke is Deputy National Statistician