This article is written by Erin Grant, Senior Policy and Legislation Analyst, Province of British Columbia.

Two years ago, I was asked to sit in on a meeting because I have a PhD in Gender History. In a past life, I was an academic, but I now work in Strategic Policy and Legislation with the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) in the Province of British Columbia (BC), Canada, so this was a bit of a novel request, but an exciting one!

By the end of that meeting, I was asked to co-chair a working group to develop a data standard — the rules by which data is described and recorded — for the collection of gender and sex information. The goal for this standard is to be used across the BC Government and shared with external stakeholders, including Crowns and other agencies, like post-secondary institutions, across our province.

All governments collect and use data shared to them by citizens, but the problem is that this data is currently inconsistent across the BC Government. For instance, some areas are collecting “gender” information, and calling it “sex”, and others are using different labels to represent gender diverse people. Let’s discuss why a standard can solve this issue.

Why should your government have a standard to collect gender and sex information?

Good data has the power to enable better decision making. But good data doesn’t automatically lead to good analysis, good decision making, or good products. So if we are designing programs and services that are meant to serve a diverse public (inclusive of gender, ethnicity, ability, and geography among other identity factors) — we need that diversity to be reflected in our data.

Likewise, we cannot close the gender gap without first eliminating the data gap, which means that policymakers in most countries are lacking crucial data on how their policies affect the other half of the population that are not men. So how can we do that, while making sure that data is consistent across a government? With a standard!

The purpose of a gender standard is to provide consistency and guidance for the collection of gender identity and sex information. It is intended to support improved delivery of services as well as to:

  • Standardise definitions and measures of gender identity (e.g. sex can be male/female/intersex and gender identity can be Two-Spirit/non-binary/man/woman);

  • Improve accessibility, interpretability, and comparability of data, and reduce the duplication of effort; and

  • Enable policy makers to develop measures that will address matters of importance affecting women, non-binary people, and other identities.

In fulfilling this purpose, public servants will be able to build on their skills to assess and respond to issues in a gender-responsive way, thus providing a strong contribution to gender mainstreaming.

So now that we know why we need a standard, let’s talk about how to develop one.

The process of developing a gender standard

Step 1: Identify your drivers

There are some significant drivers that lead to the recognition of the need for a standard to collect Gender and Sex information. For the provincial government in BC, this included (but was not limited to) the following:

  • In July 2016, the BC Human Rights Code was amended to include “gender identity or expression” among the protected grounds covered by the Code;

  • In July 2017, the federal government added gender identity to the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code, which made it necessary to distinguish the concepts of sex and gender identity;

  • Other jurisdictions and organisations in Canada (Government of Canada, Statistics Canada) introduced new, more inclusive information management (IM) standards for the collection of gender and sex information in September 2018; and

  • As of November 2018, British Columbians who do not identify as male or female have the choice to display an “X” as a third option in the “gender” field of their BC-issued driver’s license, identity card, birth certificate and BC Services Card.

In light of these changes, public sector organisations and stakeholders in BC started to look to the Provincial Government to provide guidance on the collection of gender information. To find your own drivers, look first for any high-level declarations by the United Nations and/or your government, then look to work that was completed in other jurisdictions. There could also be more localised community-based drivers. A combination of drivers from all of these levels will strengthen your case and help you gain support from your executive.

Step 2: Ensure executive support and sign-off requirements

In order to successfully develop a standard, it is crucial to have support from your senior leadership. Looking back, I think I was very lucky to have been given such unquestioning sponsorship and support from the Gender Equity Office and my branch executive supported it by lending me to the Gender Equity Office as a human resource for the time it took to develop the standard.

Behind every piece of data is a human story, and while human stories move and inspire, it is data that makes change happen. If the data we are using doesn’t adequately describe the people we are serving, we will not be reaching everyone

If you find it challenging to gain this kind of support (you are not alone), you may need to do some extra jurisdictional research to demonstrate the tangible and measurable benefits of having a standard. I also find if you can demonstrate success on a small scale (e.g. reach out to another area of your government and work together) you can more easily gain buy-in to scale up on an already successful initiative.

Step 3: Know the process

When I started leading this project, I had to do some research into the approval process and endorsement requirements for developing a data standard. The process in BC was being newly updated, so it was a bit challenging to nail down a process that was evolving. For example, there are two endorsing bodies, and another body that had previously had an endorsement role, but no longer did. I sought (and gained) endorsement from all of them – just in case!

Knowing the steps will go a long way to support your project planning, allow you to develop realistic timelines, and make sure you don’t hit any roadblocks that could have been avoided.

Step 4: Have a small dedicated team, but engage widely

The work we did to deliver this data standard was all done by volunteers.

Although I had a working group of 18 people, which grew to 50 people over the 19 months it took to research, draft, consult and gain approval for the new standard, there were only a few volunteers in that group that were able to provide consistent dedicated time to the standard on top of their already heavy work loads. This was quite challenging at times and it would have been easier to have a small team draft the standard and then engage widely across government to receive feedback. We have taken this advice for the development of guidelines to accompany the standard and the process has been much quicker!

The human story behind the data

Aside from the challenges of developing a standard, we also encountered a lot of common misunderstandings that still exist among government employees and the general public on this topic. It is (and has been) a lot of work to start to educate public servants, but the standard has provided a single source of clarity and guidance that has enabled us to progress along the continuum towards a more inclusive (and more effective) government.

Behind every piece of data is a human story, and while human stories move and inspire, it is data that makes change happen. If the data we are using doesn’t adequately describe the people we are serving, we will not be reaching everyone. I challenge you to look at how your organisation collects gender and sex data, what data it asks for and why. I guarantee that a gender standard will make for a better government. — Erin Grant

(Picture credit: Unsplash)