101 no.1 - How to Ask the Gender Question

Asking someone’s gender is a de facto part of most sign-ups.
You can find the question on websites and forms absolutely everywhere. 

The latest guidelines on best practice emphasise how important it is to be inclusive in the way you ask the question - but most fall short of this standard. 

We’ve put a series of features together sourced from the findings of think-tanks and advisory bodies to provide advice on becoming more inclusive, and we’re kicking off with a short 101 on how best to approach the gender question.

A quick overview 

Imagine you’re a gender non-binary person signing up for a service, and you’re asked this question: 

Can you answer this accurately? Do you feel that you are respected and included? 

Or do you feel like the service you’re signing up for isn’t up to date with its language?

Worse, do you feel a choice has been made to exclude you?

The confining binary of ‘Female or Male’ is an outdated way to categorise an audience. The truth is that best practice has moved on, and many official bodies have released guidelines on how to better ask this question. 

We’ve summarised the findings in some simple tips: 

The Dos and Don’ts of the Gender Question

DO

Ask whether you need to ask

The UK Government guidelines say you should only ask for someone’s gender if you genuinely can’t provide your service without that information. 

Are you sure your website is so gender-dependent that it can’t be used without an answer? 

(Hint: It’s probably not.)

Give your user an opt-out

Again from the UK Government: If you want to ask the gender question, it’s best not to force your audience to specify. In fact, you might be breaking the law. 

A simple ‘Prefer not to answer’ should be enough.

Explain why you need to know this

According to The Equality and Human Rights Commission:
a clear explanation [for asking this question] should be given. Confidentiality and anonymity should be assured (where possible).

Consider using pronouns

This study recommends a simple update in design patterns: if you’re talking in the third person, ask your audience for their preferred pronouns instead of (or alongside) their gender. 

Think globally

Different cultures may use unique terminology or incorporate specific concepts, for example Hijra in South Asia, or the Native American Two-spirit identity. If your audience is market-specific, a little research will do wonders for your inclusive approach.

DON’T

Confuse gender and sex

Sex is a legal term. As per this research, it should really only be used for health questions, government forms, or for passport applications.

Gender is how your audience identifies. According to the Information Standards Board it’s a person's private sense of, and subjective experience of, their identity. 

Show a preference

Options should be ordered alphabetically, A-Z. 

Create new limits

It’s not about creating a set list of market segments to choose from. If you need to know someone’s gender, it’s simple - ask them. Practice Makes Progress recommends a ‘something else’ free-text option for the most inclusive way to ask (‘other’ can be taken as derogatory).

On Limitations:

As we’re UK-based, we’ve focused on UK bodies of research. We understand there can be issues around language and translation, especially when it comes to pronouns. Again, this is something that an open-text field could potentially help with. 

In summary

Gender inclusivity requires thought, research, and understanding. Context is key, and as guidelines can be regularly updated it’s vital to stay current in your approach. 

However, all of the effort is worth it when your brand, site, service, and communications feel supportive and up to date, and when no member of your audience feels excluded.  

For further reading, we recommend this excellent article on Principles for Inclusive Gender Inputs.

. . .