MPs Jan Logie and Louisa Wall The Rainbow Parliamentary Network is welcoming Statistics NZ's inclusion of a "gender diverse" category as a step forward. While it remains to be seen how it will be implemented, the idea is people filling out forms will have options other than just male or female. "Gender diverse" would include a number of sub-categories, including transgender FtM and transgender MtF. Organisations will be able to decide how they us the standard, and what options people filling out forms have - for example whether they only offer 'gender diverse', or people could also pick 'transgender FtM' or 'transgender MtF'. Several government organisations are considering how to implement it. Statistics NZ says it will also consider how to use the standard across its own information collection, but says it's too early to say whether it will be used in the next Census. Labour MP and Network member Louisa Wall says the world-first is something to be proud of. "This data collection explicitly signals to those of diverse gender identity they that are an accepted and important part of our population, to be counted, which will not only provide a base of evidence but ensure we are responsive to meeting their needs in the provision of goods and services." Green MP Jan Logie says it's a step forward for the people who have been lobbying for years for inclusion in our statistics. “I hope it will also prove to be a win for our policy makers who have been working with inaccurate information. While people were forced to falsely tick male or female our data was compromised and the needs of a significant set of people were unable to be identified," she says. “While this still doesn't allow people to self-define their gender or sex it does represent a breaking down of the false binary and this is a step forward. “While we don't know yet whether the category ‘gender diverse' will deliver the information we need, we hope this will add to our collective knowledge.” The Network says it's looking forward to more researchers and organisations providing more options than just male and female, so more people in our communities can feel they are reflected in data and decision making. The group is made up of MPs from across the political spectrum who meet regularly to work on education, leadership and legislative progress for lgbti rights. Human Rights Commissioner Richard Tankersley is also hailing the move. He points out the Commission's 2008 Transgender Inquiry noted that there was not "sufficient understanding within government agencies that protection from discrimination requires policies and practices to be inclusive of all trans people, whatever their sex or gender identity". "This development paves the way for the New Zealand government to collect data on people with diverse gender identities in a way that has never been possible, leading to a better understanding of the need for recognition and inclusion of the range of trans people, and to advancing the full realisation of their human rights," Tankersley says.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 17th July 2015 - 4:03pm