Using sex and gender in survey adjustment

Accounting for sex and gender characteristics is a complex, structural challenge in social science research. While other methodology papers consider issues surrounding appropriate measurement, we consider how gender and sex impact adjustments for non-response patterns in sampling and survey estimates. We consider the problem of survey adjustment arising from the recent push toward measuring sex or gender as a non-binary construct. This is challenging not only in that response categories differ between sex and gender measurement, but also in that both of these attributes are potentially multidimensional. In this manuscript we reflect on similarities to measuring race/ethnicity before considering the ethical and statistical implications of the options available to us. We do not conclude with a single best recommendation but rather an awareness of the complexity of the issues surrounding this challenge and the benefits and weaknesses of different approaches.