New research project investigates U.S./U.K. LGBTQ data

In a new project, researchers from Cornell and the University of Edinburgh are investigating how data about LGBTQ communities is used (and misused) by governments, companies and community organizations.

The project, “Gay Numbers: The Use and Misuse of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Data in the U.K. and U.S.” will also explore how many people identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer, and why the numbers matter.

Launching this month, Gay Numbers will conduct a first-of-its-kind mapping exercise to document how sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data has been used and misused in the UK and US between 2020-25.

“Good intentions often drive SOGI data collection, but too often fixed identity categories and limited response options create challenges for gender fluid individuals. It’s important that SOGI measurement includes diverse and critical perspectives because it’s powerful work influencing our daily lives,” said co-PI Jamie Budnick, assistant professor of sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences.

“Our project adopts a queer lens that looks beyond simply adding more LGBTQ people into existing datasets. We aim to challenge dominant assumptions about data and encourage organizations to think critically about the fundamentals of who counts and why,” said co-PI Kevin Guyan, Chancellor’s Fellow in the University of Edinburgh Business School.

Around the world, more workplace diversity monitoring forms, censuses, surveys and other research exercises are asking questions related to SOGI, the researchers note. In the U.S. the Census Bureau is testing SOGI questions ahead of the 2030 census. In the UK, national censuses in 2021 and 2022 included new questions on sexual orientation and trans/gender identity. Countries including Canada, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand have also either introduced or plan to introduce SOGI questions in their census.

“I have spent my graduate training and early career becoming fluent in both mainstream demography and critical feminist perspectives on measurement, and I am dedicated to connecting folks across what are often different conversations,” Budnick said. “The area will continue growing with or without us, and it will be all the better for including a multiplicity of voices.”

The project will conclude with an online Future of SOGI Data Forum in autumn 2025, the first global gathering of policymakers, community groups and academics engaged in SOGI data to learn from shared challenges, identify and mitigate “hidden harms” of collecting more data.

The project has received funding from an Edinburgh-Cornell Global Strategic Collaboration Award. The funding enables the team to work together at each other’s institutions and deliver public talks in Edinburgh in June and Ithaca in September.