Promising Practice

Supplementing the SOEP Data Infrastructure with a sample of lesbians, gays, and bisexuals (SOEP-LGB)

Ergänzung der Dateninfrastruktur des SOEP um eine Stichprobe von Lesben, Schwulen und Bisexuellen (SOEP-LGB)
The SOEP-LGB project has succeeded in integrating 1,077 lesbians, gays and bisexuals into the largest probability-based panel study in Germany. Moreover, by modifying the questionnaire on gender, the representation of gender diversity in the sample is ensured. This expansion of sexual and gender minority respondents will help advance research on the LGBTQI* population.
Riik
Germany
Type
Mainstream equality data
Ensure representativeness
Ground of discrimination
Gender identity or expression
Sexual orientation

 


In this page:


Why was the practice needed?

The importance of gender identity and sexual orientation as a personal characteristic is underlined by the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG), in which they have the same relevance as, for example, ethnic origin, age, or religion. Despite the importance of the topic and the growing need for considering it in social reporting and research, empirical data on the living conditions of LGBTQI* people are severely limited.

To address these data shortcomings, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung) funded a boost sample of sexual and gender minorities in Germany (SOEP-LGB).

The sample was obtained by means of a random telephone screening of German-speaking adults living in Germany. During the screening, 52,675 landline numbers and 22,324 mobile phone numbers were successfully contacted (30 % mobile).

Albeit costly, this enriches the SOEP by 477 households of sexual and gender minority people.

How was it implemented?

Empirical research on the living conditions of LGBTQI* people in Germany has been limited so far. In part, this is because information on sexual orientation or gender identity is rarely collected in representative surveys.

For Germany, data from the 2019 boost sample of LGB households in the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) makes a significant improvement to the existing data infrastructure. SOEP is a representative panel survey of private households in Germany that interviews all household members on various life domains annually since 1984. Due to the large number of SOEP respondents (currently over 30,000 interviews in over 20,000 households per year), lesbian, gay, and bisexual people are well-represented.

In 2016, respondents were asked about their sexual orientation for the first time, enabling lesbian, gay and bisexual respondents to be identified in the SOEP. In 2019, the data infrastructure was expanded by the addition of a randomised sample called “SOEP-LGB,” which expanded the SOEP by 477 further households with at least one non-heterosexual/non-cisgender household member. These households were identified using randomised telephone screening of the entire adult population in Germany.

The SOEP survey includes questions for all respondents on various areas of life such as work, family, and health. The majority of the SOEP interviews are conducted via computer assisted personal interviews (CAPI) by professional interviewers.

The data have great potential for cross-sectional comparative, retrospective, and longitudinal life course research using the detailed information on the extended families (parents, children, siblings, and relatives) of LGB respondents in household panel surveys.

This data collection was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Berlin, Germany (BMBF) and is part of a larger research on ‘Sexual and Gender Diversity in Germany (GesMin)’. The German Institute for Economic Research and the University of Bielefeld together conduct both research projects.

The random screening of the general population did not yield many gender-diverse respondents. Addressing this shortcoming requires creative solutions. Therefore, a parallel web-based nonprobability study was carried out, which recruited participants on Instagram and Facebook. The questionnaires and fieldwork periods were identical. Although this sample is not representative of the population in Germany, additional research questions into gender diversity and intersectional groups with sexual orientation can be examined because of the large response numbers.

The change in the gender question in 2021 allowed for identifying 192 transgender and gender-non-conforming (TGNC) people in the SOEP survey. The 2022 sample allows for greater coverage, as the question was changed again, based on empirical and international research on how to reach more gender identities in an efficient way.

Outputs

Key success factors

As part of an EU Member State, Dr. Mirjam Fischer and Dr. Simon Kühne were able to successfully acquire funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Especially because the EU as a community of values insists on equal treatment and on anti-discrimination laws, this embedding in the community of EU states is important for the funding of such projects.

The integration of a large institution (SOEP) in a research cooperation with another university and the cooperation of expert professors and principial investigators supported the research process. Some reservations remain in the institutional hierarchies towards data improvements regarding sexual and gender minority people.

Empirical work on measuring gender and sexual orientation in a country language can lead to the necessity of modifying socio-demographic questions. This project was designed to maximise the potential of existing longitudinal household surveys for researching sexual diversity. The project thus sets an example for other national (panel) studies to implement small changes at minimal cost to enable the direly needed research into sexual diversity.

Technical information

  • Data sources covered: Household or individual surveys
  • Areas of life covered: Employment, Education, Health, Social protection, Housing and living conditions, Others: family relationships
  • Target audience:
    • LGBT persons
    • Academia
  • Duration:
    • Duration of the project: September 2018 – October 2021, Annually
    • Data collection of the panel study (SOEP): annually, since 1984
      • Sexual orientation:
        • since 2016: sexual minorities in the core sample (via partnership inferred) 
        • since 2019: Boost sample Q of LGB households (self-identified, also asked for the general population in SOEP-Core) 
      • Gender Identity:
        • 2021: question if gender identity differs from by birth assigned sex (only 2021) 
        • since 2022: 2-step-approach. The first question asks about “sex assigned at birth” and the second question asks about “self-identified gender” with the answer options “male”, “female”, “other gender (please specify)”, “no gender” and “no answer/prefer not to answer”, resulting in identifying cross-chosen transgender people, no gender, self-chosen trans* identities. 
  • Geographical scope: National
  • Leading institution:  German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) / Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW Berlin)
  • Other organisations involved/consulted: University of Bielefeld, Group of experts from universities (Humboldt-Universität Berlin, Universität Köln, Hertie School of Governance, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg) and federal ministries (Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth)
  • Financial & human resources: Budget: € 997,144; Source of the budget: Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Berlin, Germany (BMBF); Staff: 2 PhD Positions (65%) for 3 Years FTE (Full Time Equivalent).

Contacts

  • German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) / Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW Berlin) 
    David Kasprowski
See Also