Population-based data collection efforts rarely include questions designed to measure sexual orientation or gender identity. This talk will review some of the challenges, both political and methodological, to LGBT inclusion in a wider array of data sources. It will also provide a summary of the some of the key demographic characteristics of the LGBT population and same-sex couples that have been measured in population-based surveys.
Gary Gates, Williams Distinguished Scholar at UCLA, co-authored The Gay and Lesbian Atlas. His doctoral dissertation included the first significant research study of the demography of the gay and lesbian population using US Census data. He has since published extensively on the demographic and economic traits of the lesbian and gay population. His work has been featured in many national and international media outlets, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Financial Times, and National Public Radio. Dr. Gates holds a PhD from the Heinz College, School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University along with a Master of Divinity degree from St. Vincent College and a BS in Computer Science from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.
