Methodologies for filling gaps in gender and sex at birth concepts for the 2023 Census provides information on the methods that will be used to fill gaps in the ‘gender’ and ‘sex at birth’ variables in the 2023 Census.
This paper also:
- provides background, context, and information on gender and sex at birth concepts
- summarises the engagement and consultation on these concepts that have informed decisions about the methodologies employed in the 2023 Census
- covers uncertainties, risks, and limitations, and has an outlook to future work required to ensure that Stats NZ produces outputs on the concepts of gender and sex at birth that meet stakeholders’ needs.
Gaps in the ‘sexual identity’ and ‘variations of sex characteristics’ variables will not be filled by alternative data sources. Therefore, these variables are outside the scope of this paper.
Download the document below, or read the summary online.
Summary
Stats NZ will use the following methodologies to fill gaps (to address missingness) in the gender and sex at birth variables for the 2023 Census.
Gender: If a census response does not include a usable value for this variable from the 2023 Census individual form, then the gender variable will, in order, be sourced from:
- the 2023 Census dwelling or household summary form
- from admin data sources, where the admin data and Stats NZ concepts align
- statistical imputation.
Sex at birth: If a census response does not include a usable value for this variable from the 2023 Census individual form, then the sex at birth variable will, in order, be sourced from:
- admin data sources where the admin data and Stats NZ concepts align
- historical census responses for sex
- wider admin data sources with different concepts of sex or gender
- statistical imputation.
While the statistical imputation of one variable will not be dependent on the other, gender and sex at birth are imputed simultaneously. If both need imputing, they will be imputed from the same record.
Decisions about the methods employed for gender and sex at birth variables have been informed by:
- internal Stats NZ technical review
- engagement with key stakeholders and experts in data about Rainbow communities
- a public consultation process
- discussion with the Data Ethics Advisory Group.
We recognise that many people in Rainbow communities have experiences where sex, gender, or other key elements of their identity are denied or must be carefully guarded. For these reasons, input was sought from various groups and experts working with rainbow data. Additionally, there were opportunities for members of the wider community to provide their thoughts and feedback on the approaches proposed by Stats NZ.
This feedback will also support the appropriate presentation of the outputs from the 2023 Census and clear explanation of the variables for data users.
ISBN 978-1-99-104965-0
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