My name is Cody Ingle, and I am a Queer evaluator in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I work for a nonprofit called Lost&Found that works in suicide prevention and postvention. I identify as a cisgender, gay male that uses he/him pronouns. I am new to the evaluation profession and have been an AEA member for the past few months.
As I’ve begun working on evaluation in South Dakota (and therefore having a keener eye on the questions that surveys are asking), I have noticed that there are some indicators missing concerning Queer populations. For example, South Dakota does not collect data on Queer youth from the YRBSS survey distributed to schools. How can we evaluate Queer behaviors without this data, especially in a state where HelpAdvisor suggested that 90% of Queer people experience anxiety or depression (with data from the Household Pulse Survey). I’ve noticed in local health clinics that data for Queer people is missing as well. Some clinics combine sex at birth and gender identity on the intake form, while others simply don’t ask about sexual orientation. Again, important data to collect if we ever want to evaluate health outcomes for Queer people. As a Queer person in a conservative-leaning state, there are also concerns I have divulging information about my sexual orientation. This is a barrier we face in South Dakota as well—if we aren’t even asking the questions, how can we start to create a safe environment for the Queer community to be active participants in evaluation efforts?
It’s not only local data missing Queer demographics—it’s federal data as well. The Household Pulse Survey, which measures social and economic impacts during the Coronavirus Pandemic, didn’t start collecting demographic data on Queer people until its third wave (approximately one year after data began). This is also the first survey sponsored by the Census Bureau to ask questions concerning Queer identities. Working with certain grants, the only options for gender are “male” and “female,” which excludes an entire population group of those who identify outside of the binary. Or, surveys lump identities together, such as “Gay or Lesbian” (which are two entirely different population groups). As evaluators, we would love to gather the information for Queer individuals, but it has not yet been approved through federal routes (we all know how strict grants can be). This limits the evaluation and analysis we can do on our Queer population.
We know that both rural populations and Queer individuals have a higher risk for depression, anxiety, and negative health outcomes. Being a Queer evaluator already presents its own struggle in rural areas, and adding inaccessible data on the community makes it even more frustrating. I know I’m more than likely “preaching to the choir” here, but we must continue to fight for equitable data representation among the Queer community in our evaluation projects. We must continue to speak up when the community is completely overlooked. I’ve learned that being the “squeaky wheel” that’s constantly asking the questions—both locally and federally—will help to bring incremental change. Let’s continue to raise our voices to ensure that the Queer community is being represented adequately in our evaluations.
The American Evaluation Association is hosting LGBT Issues TIG Week with our colleagues in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Issues Topical Interest Group. The contributions all this week to AEA365 come from our LGBT TIG members. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this AEA365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the AEA365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an AEA365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to AEA365@eval.org. AEA365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators. The views and opinions expressed on the AEA365 blog are solely those of the original authors and other contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the American Evaluation Association, and/or any/all contributors to this site.