COSLA and myjobscotland use the term ‘gender’ in equalities monitoring and other documents because we believe it leads to more accurate data being collected which helps us to better protect people who are likely to experience inequalities. We recognise that the Equality Act 2010 refers to ‘sex’, but this is the legislative minimum standard. We do not believe that using the term ‘gender’ compromises the legal protections afforded to women and girls or men and boys. In common with other public sector bodies in Scotland we understand that a binary definition can be problematic for some people, and so on our equalities monitoring form we have a non-binary question that allows people to self-define where necessary.
We have consulted with Stonewall Scotland and Scottish Councils Equalities Network to ensure we follow best practice on our equality monitoring and other documents.