Disaggregating by sex, gender and sexual orientation

Whereas “sex” refers to the classification of a person as having female, male and or/intersex characteristics, “gender identity” captures each individual’s “deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with their sex assigned at birth or the gender attributed to them by society”. “Sexual orientation” refers to a person’s capacity for romantic, emotional and/or physical feelings or attraction to an individual. All of these markers fall under the umbrella term “SOGIESC” or sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics (IOM, 2021b).

While disaggregating by sex is fairly common, disaggregating by an individual’s gender identity is less common. Using sex data for gender analysis is understandable and acceptable where this is deemed to be the most safe, appropriate and inclusive means of ensuring key gender groups are included, however the importance of ensuring that the needs of persons of all genders are considered in project and programme development and implementation is critical to ensuring no one is left behind. 

Sex, gender and sexual orientation impact on opportunities to migrate, labour market integration, exposure to violence and exploitation and access to rights and services. For example, the labour force participation of female migrants is almost 20% lower than the labour force participation of male migrants (IOM, 2024). Female migrants are not only more likely to be employed in elementary occupations than male migrants but also face a large gender pay gap in many countries (ILO, 2020). Furthermore, female migrants are at a higher risk of exploitation, abuse, and trafficking, also because they are more likely to be employed in less regulated informal sectors of the economy (ODI, 2016). Diverse SOGIESC migrants may face distinct risks during migration, including physical or sexual violence from a variety of actors, denial of access to healthcare and other essential services and discrimination by border police, immigration officers or service providers (UN Women, 2023). Disaggregating by sex and gender would enable us to identify the inequalities faced by both women and persons with diverse sex characteristics (IOM, 2021b).

Gender-responsiveness, which refers to addressing the different needs, perspectives and representations of all genders, is one of the guiding principles of the Global Compact for Migration. Gender mainstreaming is a strategy for assessing the implications of any actions, legislations, policies or programmes for gender equality and for ensuring that gender concerns are taken into consideration in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of any planned actions (IOM, 2021c). For migration to be safe and accessible to all, gender equality considerations should be integrated into migration data collection, use and analysis so that policymakers, NSOs and practitioners are better equipped in their decision-making. This includes data required to support gender mainstreaming and inform the development of  gender responsive actions addressing structural barriers that are the root causes of existing gender inequalities, with a focus on harmful gender norms.

IOM’s 2021 Guide on Gender and Migration Data provides a summary of key actions that practitioners and policymakers can take to encourage the gender-responsiveness of migration data and policy. Similarly, IOM’s (2021d) Guidance Note on Gender Sensitive Communication provides guidance on the options that are to be included in forms, surveys and databases for the measurement of sex, gender and sexual orientation (see Table 3). Finally, IOM’s 2023 Gender Equality Policy (forthcoming) outlines several commitments for strengthening the global evidence-base on gender-related dynamics of migration, such as developing safe data ecosystems that enable disaggregation by SOGIESC markers without causing harm to vulnerable population, conducting gender and diversity-responsive data analysis and using these analyses to inform policy, strategy and programming.

Table 3: Response categories to be included in forms, surveys and databases

The first recommendation is to collect data on migrants with diverse SOGIESC identities, e.g., transgender, non-binary, and queer people among others in addition to sex-disaggregated data. While some actors encourage a two-step data-gathering process, with a first question about sex assigned at birth and a second question about gender identity, IOM encourages using both the sex marker on an official document and a question on the individual’s gender identity (if relevant and if the individual wishes to disclose that information) (IOM, 2021c).

Another recommendation is including the voices of people with diverse SOGIESC identities in data production and collection in order to improve the reliability, validity and accuracy of the data. Adopting mixed-method approaches integrating qualitative and quantitative data will facilitate the representation of marginalized voices and qualitative designs, such as semi-structured interviews, can inform the design of new survey instruments (IOM. 2021c).

A third recommendation is to consider the gender responsiveness of different research designs and data sources. For example, NSOs and other government agencies conducting surveys might avoid sampling designs that measure the household based on the ‘head of household’ or that focus on the household as a homogenous unit, rather than on the individual household members. Administrative data of temporary migrant work visas and study permits might record the gender and other characteristics of dependents admitted alongside the visa holder. Innovative data sources can be leveraged to collect data on female migrants and migrants with diverse SOGIESC identities as they may, for example, operate through informal channels for sending remittances home.

Finally, governments and NSOs are encouraged to compile and publish best practices on the inclusion of indicators related to gender. Gender-responsive budgeting will encourage the development of gender databases and the mainstreaming of gender into the entire National Statistical System. Training and capacity-building of policymakers, practitioners and government officials on the measurement of sex, gender and sexual orientation, gender-responsive data collection and gender and diversity analysis using statistical data is essential to promoting the gender-responsiveness of migration data and policy.

It is important that any data on gender identity, sexual orientation, or sex characteristics can be answered safely and confidentially. Care must be taken to ensure that questions can be answered privately and confidentially (e.g. not in public spaces or in the presence of others). Otherwise, respondents may be vulnerable to harassment or violence and data may be skewed because respondents do not feel comfortable or safe answering truthfully (Krynsky Baal, 2021). Migration data should also be processed, managed and stored to prevent any potential loss, theft, or misuse in line with human rights standards. National laws related to the privacy and ethics of statistical data collection, use and sharing and measures such as firewalls, data anonymization, data encryption, password protection and anti-virus protection can prevent data on persons with diverse SOGIESC identities being used to curtail their access to rights and services or to encourage abuse or violence against them (IOM, 2021c).