NHMRC has implemented changes to the gender field in researcher profiles in Sapphire, its grant management system, to give researchers the option to self-identify as ‘non binary’, or to specify a different term.
This change is consistent with the gender variable in the Australian Bureau of Statistics Standard for Sex, Gender, Variation of Sex Characteristics and Sexual Orientation Variables, 2020. This change was signalled in the Working towards gender equity in Investigator Grants announcement.
Gender data for researchers with an active profile in Sapphire have been automatically updated, in line with the below table. NHMRC asks RAOs to alert researchers to this change and invite researchers to review their gender data and amend if appropriate.
| Previous Sapphire gender options | New Sapphire gender options | Effect of data migration |
|---|---|---|
| Female | Woman or female | Researchers who had previously selected ‘Female’ will display as ‘Woman or female’. |
| Male | Man or male | Researchers who had selected ‘Male’ will display as ‘Man or male’. |
| Intersex or Indeterminate | I use a different term | Researchers who had selected ‘Intersex or Indeterminate’ will display as ‘I use a different term’ with the words ‘Intersex or indeterminate’ entered in the associated free text box. |
| Not stated | Prefer not to answer | Researchers who had selected ‘Not Stated’ will display as ‘Prefer not to answer’. |
| <no equivalent option> | Non-binary | ‘Non-binary’ is a new option available for researchers to select. |
| <NULL> | <NULL> | Researchers who have not selected any option for their gender will continue to display as ‘null’. |