When Leadership Falls Short: The Crisis of Care in Library Work
Posted on in Blog Posts
The Importance of Gender-Inclusive Survey Data
Posted on May 26, 2026 in Blog Posts
Authors:
Stephen Krueger
It is common to survey students in my professional specialty. (The issues I will describe here are not specific to it, and these concerns apply to all data collection.) However, these surveys generally do not provide meaningful information about trans and gender diverse people; some do not collect information about gender at all. I used to be undecided on whether this was better or worse than offering only binary options, but I am now firmly of the opinion that no data is better than information that cannot possibly be correct. This also applies to research where funders or employers ban any questions about gender that include trans and gender diverse options—if some people must misgender themselves to respond, the results will be inaccurate, and there is no point taking them seriously. I am probably not the only person who simply refuses to complete any survey like this. In addition to the offensive nature of the researchers telling me I don’t exist, why would I waste my time participating in a study that has clearly told me the data will be a joke?
One survey I came across appeared better on the surface, but ended up bothering me in an entirely different way. In addition to the binary options, respondents could choose “nonbinary,” “other,” or “decline to answer.” This is not the worst approach, I suppose. Since no list includes every possible gender identity, the only way to ask without othering people (sometimes by literally making the “Other” box the least wrong option) is to make the question open-ended, but most researchers are extremely quick to let me know how annoying that would be to process. The actual problem with this particular question is that it was completely useless for learning about the experiences of trans and gender diverse people. Since there was no way to separate out trans men and trans women from cis people, no comparisons could be made. Moreover, the report lumped nonbinary people in with those who provided no answer. As I had been hoping specifically to find patterns in how the topic of study impacted trans and gender diverse people, it was deeply frustrating to find a question that seemed well-intended but ended up being useless in a way that should have been obvious from the beginning.
This is simply not that hard a task to achieve. I need not explain how to ask useful and respectful questions about gender in a survey; that information is readily available, and can be reinvented by anyone with a reasonable amount of knowledge about gender. The fact that this knowledge is apparently optional for so many researchers is the problem. I recognize that, in the United States as of 2026, there are many who want to do better and have been directly prevented; as I stated at the beginning, my opinion is that questions about gender should be cut completely rather than rewritten to exclude some respondents. Presumably, some people disagree (including some trans and gender diverse people, I’m sure, as we are not a monolith and are allowed to hold directly conflicting opinions).
Recently, I attended a meeting about retention, with great attention to any possible reasons a student might withdraw or transfer from our institution. Not for the first time, I asked if there was any information available about the behavior of trans and gender diverse students (well, I just said “trans,” having learned that the simplified shorthand is necessary sometimes to move the conversation forward). There was none, of course; the gender data provided is male/female only. The data did not provide any information on whether trans and gender diverse students are leaving at higher rates than cis ones, and as a result the potential reasons why were not part of the discussion.
I do not know whether the information is absent because of some high-up order or because it has never occurred to anyone responsible to collect it. Perhaps whoever drafted these reports never wanted to know about the experiences of trans and gender diverse students due to personal anti-trans bigotry. I do know that I cannot bring myself to take seriously a retention meeting that simply ignores an entire group of students with, one imagines (one must imagine here, because there is no data), plenty of reasons to leave. I do know that if your survey asks me if I am male or female, I am closing the window immediately.
About the author:
Stephen G. Krueger is an academic librarian in the United States. Ey is the author of Supporting Trans People in Libraries (2019) and co-editor of Trans and Gender Diverse Voices in Libraries (2023). Learn more at www.stephengkrueger.com.
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