EHRC Research reports

(excerpts from the Sept. 2011 newsletter)

Monitoring equality: developing a gender identity question by Meela Balarajan, Michelle Gray and Martin Mitchell of National Centre for Social Research (Research Report no. 75)

This report develops new gender identity questions that can be used by public bodies when carrying out equality monitoring as required by the Public Sector Equality Duty. Draft questions were first discussed in focus groups of transgender and non-transgender people and then cognitively tested to ensure that they would be understood and answered by people who are transgender and non-transgender. The report presents the recommended questions and also outlines the assurances that are required if they are to be effective and the caveats to their use.

The EHRC has also published a guide, Collecting information on gender identity, which aims to help public authorities subject to the equality duty, and those thinking about or currently monitoring gender identity, to do so using an acceptable and methodologically robust approach. The guide, which draws on the above research report, discusses the information required under the equality duty, considers the purpose and value of monitoring, and outlines the recommended questions and how these should be asked. The guide is available at:
http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/EqualityAct/PSED/collecting_info_gender_id.pdf

Trans research review by Martin Mitchell and Charlie Howarth of National Centre for Social Research (Research Report no. 27, 2009)

This report highlights what is known about the inequalities and high levels of discrimination and prejudice trans people face as citizens in areas of life including: housing; education; crime; economic status and employment; health and social care; media, leisure and sport; family life and relationships and community participation. No major government or administrative surveys have collected data on trans people to date. The review suggests that existing legislation does not adequately protect all trans people and that trans people appear to be absent from most major government policies and programmes.

Sex and Power 2011 by Equality and Human Rights Commission
This report measures and comments on the number of women in positions of power or influence in Britain in 2010/11. Data are presented for 27 occupation categories in four broad categories (politics, business, media and culture and public and voluntary sectors). Comparative data are presented for each of the years 2003 to 2006 and for 2007-08, the last time that this report was produced. In 17 out of 27 categories, women's representation has increased since 2007-08, but in the remaining 10 categories, it has fallen. The report is available at:
http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/key-projects/sexandpower/

All EHRC research reports unless stated can be downloaded from:

http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/our-job/our-research/

If you experience any difficulty in downloading these, please contact Research@equalityhumanrights.com and they will send you the relevant PDFs. They also have a limited number of printed copies of some (though not all) of the reports.