AIHW data by sex and gender

Understanding the difference between ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ is important for accurate interpretation of statistics. While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, they have distinct meanings.

A person's gender may stay the same or can change over the course of their lifetime. Transgender is a broad term that can be used to describe people whose gender identity is different from the gender they were thought to be when they were born.

Do AIHW reports use sex or gender?

Where possible, AIHW reports will define what is meant by the terms used. However, currently most AIHW reports present results by whether people are ‘male’ or ‘female’, as this is what is recorded in most data collections. In many of these instances, ‘male’ or ‘female’ may refer to either sex or gender. This is because many data sources do not record sex and gender as separate concepts, and it can be unclear which is the focus.

For example:

• If a survey is conducted by interview, an interviewer may assume a person's sex or gender rather than ask. Similarly, a service provider may not ask a person to specify their sex or gender, particularly if they do not consider it relevant to the service or treatment.
• Data collected in a survey will reflect the different ways people may answer a question. This means that, although a survey data field may be labelled as ‘sex’, some respondents to the survey will likely have answered it instead with their gender. For example, a person recorded male at birth but who has been living as a woman for many years may select ‘female’ as their response to a question asking if their sex is ‘male’ or ‘female’.
• Data collected about newborn babies can be assumed to relate to sex, because it is generally based on what physical characteristics are observed at birth.

To reduce ambiguity:

• If the data source is known to relate to sex at birth or to gender identity, the AIHW report will specify this. 'Male' and 'female' will then be used in the rest of the report.
• If we do not know if the data source relates to sex or gender, the AIHW report will make it clear that 'male' and 'female' may relate to either sex or gender.
• Where we are reporting on a program or initiative (such as BreastScreen Australia) that targets a particular population group, the program may have its own way of referring to the people included. Reports will use this wording if it is appropriate and will specify that the wording has been chosen to align with the definitions used by the program.
  • The language used by AIHW reports on cervical screening is based on advice from the National Cervical Screening Program through a variety of processes, including meetings of program managing and data dictionary working groups. The language used in the data reporting does not precisely match that used in promotion of the program for several reasons, including the different audiences and the readability of the reporting. The use of the terminology and its meaning is explained to readers on the first page of the report.
• Reporting on cancer incidence and mortality have different conventions to reporting on participation in government programs such as the National Cervical Screening Program. Reporting on cancer incidence and mortality – whether in our prostate cancer reports or in our cervical screening reports – consistently uses ‘women’ and ‘men’ or ‘females’ and ‘males’.

We also use terms like men, women, boys and girls

When describing gender-specific or sex-specific data, terms like 'men', 'women', 'mothers', 'fathers', 'boys' and 'girls' can improve readability. Where appropriate, our reports may use these terms and will define what they mean in the context of the report or data collection.

'Men’ and ‘women' are used for people aged 18 and over. 'Boys’ and ‘girls' may be used when the data relate only to children. If a mix of ages is included (or the age range is unclear), 'males’ and ‘females' will be used if appropriate.

Including additional sex and gender categories in reports

Some data sources may include data with more than 2 categories for sex (such as male, female and another term) or gender (such as man, woman and non-binary). 

While the AIHW is keen to include additional categories when reporting by sex or gender, it is not always possible to do so. The main reasons for not releasing data for additional categories include:

• Data are not available: In most cases, AIHW reporting is based on analysis of administrative data that are collected by others. Many of these collections do not capture the information necessary for including additional categories in our reports.
• Population counts are not available: Many of the statistical tools we use in our analyses require population data. For example, population counts are used in the denominators of proportions and rates. Reliable population data for additional categories for sex and gender are often not available.
• Confidentiality concerns: When populations are disaggregated by sex or gender, it is common that the number of people counted in the additional categories (for example, non-binary) is small. This is particularly the case when sex/gender is further disaggregated by additional data items, such as sub-state geographies. Small counts can give rise to re-identification risks. In such instances, the AIHW removes the data before publishing and reports that this has been done to maintain confidentiality. 

How information might be presented in AIHW reports

Here are a couple of examples of how we might present information about sex and gender in our reporting:

Use of inclusive language

Where possible, and where gender is not relevant to the reporting, the AIHW uses gender-neutral language such as people, they/their, parents, children, young people and adults.