1-2% of the global population do not identify as ‘female’ or ‘male’.
Results of the Ipsos LGBT+ Pride 2021 Global Survey
On this page.
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Gender laws around the world
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Navigating gender in global research
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Steps to ethical research
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An essential reading list for researchers
Navigating gender in global research.
Our industry has responded to the complexity of the gender question with guidelines primarily for UK- and US-based research. The recommended approaches include asking about both assigned sex and gender identity, as well as providing options to self-identify or opt out.
What if your research is in Saudi Arabia, or any of the other dozens of countries where it is illegal to identify as anything other than male or female?
That’s where localization consultancy plays a key role in your research success. We apply up-to-date cultural knowledge from within the country to understand how the gender question will affect your insights, and adapt gender question translations to your study’s specific requirements.
Ask our specialist team member, Gabi, about the gender question in your market(s) →
Read the official Market Research Society Guidance Note on Collecting Data on Sex and Gender
Step 1 – Determine if you need to ask the gender question at all
Consider your research objective. Do you need to understand a participant’s physiological sex for medical purposes? Or, are you segmenting based on consumer behaviour ‘trends’ relating to gender identity? If the question is around the latter, decide whether or not the results of asking a gender question provide mission-critical data. If not, simply don’t ask!
Step 2 – Explore different ways to compare markets
The idea that gender response options need to be identical across markets is based on the outdated assumption that all markets classify gender in the same way. Consider grouping your sample by markets with similar attitudes to gender recognition instead, or using different identity-based areas for benchmarking.
Step 3 – Respect all cultures
In global research, it is just as important to respect markets that view gender as binary. We recommend working with in-country linguists that specialise in market research on the translations, as they can provide input on the cultural and legal aspects of the question, alongside sharing knowledge of how the cross-market differences could impact benchmarking and market comparison capabilities.