Att G - SOGI Sign-On Comment

April 30, 2024
Kyra Linse
Survey Director
Current Population Surveys
U.S. Census Bureau
dsd.cps@census.gov
Re: Request for Comment on the Current Population Survey Basic Demographic
Items, Docket Number USBC-2024-0003
Dear Ms. Linse:
This letter is submitted on behalf of 49 organizations committed to advancing equality and
opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) people in the
United States. Rigorous research on the experiences of underserved communities and evidence-based
policymaking to address disparities is integral to our vision of achieving economic security for all. It
is for this reason we are grateful for the opportunity to provide feedback on the Census Bureau’s
request for comments on the Current Population Survey (CPS) and its Basic Demographic Items (89
FR 151191).
Specifically, we write to request that the Census Bureau add measures of sexual orientation and gender
identity (SOGI) to the Basic Demographic Items collected on the CPS. We also urge the Census
Bureau to continue to evaluate and research how to collect data about intersex populations. We believe
that doing so is critical to fulfill responsibilities under Executive Order 14075 on Advancing Equality
for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex Individuals (EO 14075) and meaningfully
implement the Learning Agenda put forth in the Federal Evidence Agenda on LGBTQI+ Equity.
I.

Recent Developments to Improve SOGI Data Collection and Advance LGBTQI+
Equity

Research shows that, compared to the general population, LGBTQ people face significant barriers to
achieve economic security, including discrimination in employment and housing, workforce exclusion,
and lack of access to well-paying jobs with sufficient, inclusive benefits.2 Such disparities are often
heightened for particular subgroups—such as transgender populations—and for people with multiple
marginalized identities, such as LGBTQI+ people of color and LGBTQI+ people with disabilities.3
Federal Register, 89 (42) (2024): 15119-15120, available at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2024-03-01/pdf/2024-04381.pdf
Caroline Medina, Lindsay Mahowald, Rose Khattar, and Aurelia Glass,”Fact Sheet: LGBT Workers in the Labor Market,” (Center for American
Progress: 2022), available at https://www.americanprogress.org/article/fact-sheet-lgbt-workers-in-the-labor-market/; Brad Sears, Christy Mallory,
Andrew R. Flores, and Kerith J. Conron, “LGBT People’s Experiences of Workplace Discrimination and Harassment,” The Williams Institute,
September 2021, available at https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/lgbt-workplace-discrimination/
3 Caroline Medina, Lindsay Mahowald, Thee Santos, and Mia Ives-Rublee, “The United States Must Advance Economic Security for Disabled
LGBTQI+ Workers,” (Center for American Progress: 2021) available at https://www.americanprogress.org/article/united-states-must-advanceeconomic-security-disabled-lgbtqi-workers/; Christopher S. Carpenter, Samuel T. Eppink, and Gilbert Gonzales, “Transgender Status, Gender
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However, lack of routine, standardized collection of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI)
data on key federal surveys—including the CPS—results in knowledge gaps that must be remedied.
We appreciate that the Census Bureau and the Department of Labor (DOL) have demonstrated a
commitment to advancing the rights of LGBTQI+ communities and adopting a data-driven approach
to policymaking. For example, the Census Bureau took the historic step of adding SOGI questions to
the Household Pulse Survey and is now in the process of conducting a test to add SOGI measures to
the American Community Survey, which will be critical to advance equity and strengthen enforcement
of civil rights laws that protect LGBTQI+ people from discrimination.4 Additionally, the DOL has
published guidance on offering benefits to same-sex spouses of employees, ensuring safe, healthy
workplaces for transgender workers and equality for transgender participants in DOL programs, and
worked to implement Executive Order 13988 by protecting people from discrimination based on
sexual orientation and gender identity.5
We urge the Census Bureau and DOL to build on their track record of adopting policies to improve
the well-being of LGBTQI+ communities by adding SOGI measures to the CPS, which is critical to
help achieve the goals of EO 14075 and the Federal Evidence Agenda on LGBTQI+ Equity. In June
2022, President Biden signed EO14075 which requires the creation of an evidence agenda to
coordinate a cross-government effort to “advance the responsible and effective collection and use of
data on sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics.6” In January 2023, the
Subcommittee on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Variations in Sex Characteristics
Subcommittee on Equitable Data of the National Science and Technology Council published the
“Federal Evidence Agenda on LGBTQI+ Equity” (“Evidence Agenda'').7 This first-of-its-kind
Evidence Agenda provides an overview of LGBTQI+ data needs, presents a Learning Agenda for
federal agencies to use to advance LGBTQI+ equity, and offers guidelines for collecting SOGI data
in administrative contexts.
For example, enhancing data collection on LGBTQI+ communities through the CPS could help the
Census Bureau and DOL answer questions included in the Learning Agenda, such as, “What are
earnings, incomes, unemployment rates, and labor force participation rates for LGBTQI+ people?
How do related outcomes differ across sexual orientation and gender identities and for LGBTQI+
Identity, and Socioeconomic Outcomes in the United States,” Industrial and Labor Relations Review 73 (3) (2020): 573–599, available at:
https://doi.org/10.1177/0019793920902776; Williams Institute, “Race and Well-Being Among LGBT Adults,” available at
https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/visualization/lgbt-races/
4 U.S. Census Bureau, “Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the Household Pulse Survey,” available at
https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity.html (last accessed April 2024); U.S. Census
Bureau, “The Context and Evolution of Data Collection for Same-Sex Married Couple Households,” available at
https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2020/demo/the_context_and_evolution_of_data_collection_for_same_sex_married_couple_househo
lds.html (last accessed April 2024); Federal Register 88 (180) (2023): 64404-64407, available at
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/09/19/2023-20256/agency-information-collection-activities-submission-to-the-office-ofmanagement-and-budget-omb-for
5 U.S. Department of Labor, “Blog: Pride at Work,” June 1, 2021, available at https://blog.dol.gov/2021/06/01/prideat-work
6 The White House, “Executive Order on Advancing Equality for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and
Intersex Individuals,” June 15, 2022, available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/06/15/executive-order-onadvancing-equality-for-lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender-queer-and-intersex-individuals/
7 Subcommittee on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Variations in Sex Characteristics (SOGI) Data
Subcommittee on Equitable Data, “Federal Evidence Agenda on LGBTQI+ Equity,” January 2023, available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wpcontent/uploads/2023/01/Federal-Evidence-Agenda-on-LGBTQI-Equity.pdf

people who also identify as people of color? How do they differ across different occupation categories
such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics occupations?”8 For that reason, we also
urge DOL to include efforts to improve SOGI data collection on the CPS as a component of its Data
Action Plan required under EO14075.
II.

The Importance of Improving Data Collection on LGBTQI+ Communities
through the Current Population Survey

The Census Bureau and DOL can further their efforts to advance LGBTQI+ equity, fulfill their
responsibilities under EO14075, and realize the goals of the Evidence Agenda by adding SOGI
measures to the CPS. Jointly sponsored by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, the CPS is the primary source of labor force statistics for the population of the United
States.9 The CPS provides crucial information about employment and unemployment; emerging
trends in employment status, wages, and earnings; and variables impacting labor force participation.10
Every month DOL’s Bureau of Labor statistics uses these data to publish Employment Situation reports
examining how the labor market is progressing across different industries and for different
populations.
The CPS currently collects demographic information about sex, race, ethnicity, and other items.11 It
does not, however, include questions about SOGI and allows only for the identification of same-sex
couples. The latter is a valuable but flawed proxy measure for capturing information on sexual
orientation12 that is estimated to only account for approximately 1 in 6 LGBTQI+ people.13 Adopting
SOGI measures on the CPS will illuminate what earnings, incomes, unemployment rates, poverty and
labor force participation rates are for LGBTQI+ households and individuals and how those outcomes
differ based on race and ethnicity, age, disability status, and geographic region. Doing so is essential
to examine the monthly labor market experiences of LGBTQI+ communities, support LGBTQIinclusive research agendas, and better implement policies and programs that promote equity and
address systemic barriers to economic security that LGBTQI+ communities face.
Indeed, according to studies conducted by Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics adding SOGI
measures to the CPS is feasible. That research found that people clearly understand SOGI questions,
did not find them difficult to answer or especially sensitive, and were willing to answer the questions

Ibid. at pg. 25
U.S. Census Bureau, “Current Population Survey,” available at https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps.html (last accessed April, 2024)
10 U.S. Census Bureau, “About the Current Population Survey,” available at https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/about.html (last accessed
April 2024)
11 U.S. Census Bureau, “Basic CPS Items Booklet Demographic Items,” available at https://www2.census.gov/programssurveys/cps/techdocs/questionnaires/Demographics.pdf; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey
Demographics,” available at https://www.bls.gov/cps/demographics.htm.
12 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, “Understanding the Wellbeing of LGBTQI+ Populations” (Washington: 2020),
available at https://www.nap.edu/read/25877/chapter/1.
13 Caroline Medina and Lindsay Mahowald, “Collecting Data About LGBTQI+ And Other Sexual and Gender Diverse Communities” (Center for
American Progress; 2022), available at https://www.americanprogress.org/article/collecting-data-about-lgbtqi-and-other-sexual-and-gender-diversecommunities/
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for themselves and others. 14 We encourage the Census Bureau and DOL to build on that important
research to add SOGI measures to the CPS and to incorporate any lessons learned based on the
inclusion of SOGI measures on the Household Pulse Survey and ongoing cognitive testing for the
American Community Survey. We urge the Census Bureau and DOL to ensure that these measures
are adopted in accordance with best practices for data security and stewardship that responsibly
safeguard the privacy and confidentiality of all respondents, including LGBTQI+ respondents.
Additionally, we urge the Census Bureau to work with DOL to invest in testing and fielding measures
of variations in sex characteristics that allow intersex populations to self-identify on data instruments
such as the CPS that collect demographic information. Evidence demonstrates that people with
intersex traits experience stigma and discrimination that results in disparities in economic security
compared to the general population.15 We encourage the Census Bureau to coordinate with other
agencies on an ongoing basis to identify and leverage opportunities and best practices to advance the
collection of intersex-inclusive data and qualitative and quantitative research.
III.

Conclusion

Our organizations are dedicated to supporting Census Bureau and DOL enhancing responsible data
collection on LGBTQI+ populations in order to further the goals of EO 14075 and the Evidence
Agenda on LGBTQI+ Equity. Doing so is critical to better identify and address disparities that
LGBTQI+ populations face and assess how the federal government is progressing in its mission to
meaningfully improve the economic security and well-being of LGBTQI+ households and
individuals.
Thank you for your consideration of these recommendations. If you need any additional information,
please do not hesitate to contact Caroline Medina, Director of Policy for Whitman-Walker Institute
(cmedina@whitman-walker.org) or Naomi Goldberg, Executive Director of Movement
Advancement Project (Naomi@mapresearch.org).
Respectfully,
Whitman-Walker Institute
Movement Advancement Project
A Better Balance
Advocates for Youth
AltaMed Health Services
Ellis, R., Virgile, M., Holzberg, J., Nelson, D., Edgar, J., Phipps, P., & Kaplan, R. (2017). “Assessing the Feasibility of Asking about Sexual
Orientation and Gender Identity in the Current Population Survey: Results from Cognitive Interviews.” Technical Report, Center for Survey
Measurement, U.S. Census Bureau; Office of Survey Methods Research, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/working-papers/2018/adrm/rsm2018-06.pdf ; Holzberg, J., Ellis, R., Virgile, M., Nelson, D.,
Edgar, J., Phipps, P., & Kaplan, R. (2017). Assessing the feasibility of asking about gender identity in the current population survey: results from focus
groups with members of the transgender population. https://www.bls.gov/osmr/research-papers/2017/pdf/st170200.pdf
15 Caroline Medina and Lindsay Mahowald, “Key Issues Facing People With Intersex Traits,” (Center for American Progress; 2021), available at
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/key-issues-facing-people-intersex-traits/
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American Atheists
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
American Civil Liberties Union
California LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
CenterLink: The Community of LGBTQ Centers
Equality California
Equality Illinois
Food Research & Action Center
FORGE, Inc.
Funders' Committee for Civic Participation (FCCP)
GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality
GLSEN
Just Detention International
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
Mazzoni Center
MomsRising
National Black Justice Coalition
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Community Action Partnership
National Employment Law Project
National LGBTQ Task Force
National LGBTQI+ Cancer Network
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Women's Law Center
Oasis Legal Services
Out & Equal
OutNebraska
Parable of the Sower Intentional Community Cooperative
PFLAG National
Project on Government Oversight
SAGE (Advocacy and Services for LGBTQ+ Elders)
Silver State Equality-Nevada
The Center for HIV Law and Policy (CHLP)
The Fenway Institute
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center
The Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC United)
The Trevor Project
TransFamily Support Services
Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF)

Transhealth
TransYouth Liberation
Union for Reform Judaism