University of Illinois System

Data Collection for Employees FAQs

FAQs: Legal Sex, Gender Designation and Personal Pronouns Data Collection for Employees

1.            Why am I asked to report my “Legal Sex”?

The University of Illinois System is required to report either “male” or “female” to outside entities that manage our retirement and benefits plans, and therefore employees must select one of these two options upon hire. We anticipate there may be changes to this protocol in the future, but for the time being these are the only two options

2.            Why am I asked to report my “Gender Designation”?

The University of Illinois System recognizes that gender is not limited to, nor always congruent with, the categories available in legal sex designation. Employees have the option to select a gender designation. This field is not mandatory.

3.            Why am I asked to report my “Personal Pronoun Preference”?

Some individuals prefer to use pronouns other than he/him/his or she/her/hers, such as they/them/theirs or ze/hir/hirs. The University of Illinois recognizes that their choice goes to the core of their identity, and therefore would like to offer options for employees to submit this preference. This field is not mandatory.

4.            Does my “Legal Sex” need to match the information on my driver’s license?

For University of Illinois System records, your legal sex should match what is recorded on a government-issued ID (such as driver’s license, state ID card, or passport), and may be different than your gender designation. If you are not a citizen or permanent resident of the US, your legal sex should match your passport.

5.            Can I change my “Legal Sex”, “Gender Designation”, or “Personal Pronoun”?

Employees may make changes to their “Gender Designation” and/or “Personal Pronoun” by going to the My Profile section of My UI Info. “Legal Sex” may not be changed in My UI Info. Employees must contact their university or System human resources office to request a change to “Legal Sex”.

6.            Who has access to the information I provide for "Legal Sex"?

The University of Illinois takes data security very seriously. Legal Sex will be available only to staff responsible for maintaining employee data for the University of Illinois.Your individual responses will not be viewable by general university departments. Aggregate information (percentages and category totals) will be available to administrative departments. Legal Sex will be provided to those state and federal agencies who mandate that the university provide it for purposes such as insurance, retirement, or equal opportunity reporting.

7.           Who has access to the information I provide for “Gender Designation”?

Gender Designation (if selected), will be available only to staff responsible for maintaining employee data for the University of Illinois. Your individual responses will not be viewable by general university departments. Aggregate information (percentages and category totals) will be available to administrative departments.

8.           Who has access to the information I provide for “Personal Pronoun”?

Units may use Personal Pronoun data to verify how an individual would like to be addressed. Furthermore, Personal Pronoun may appear in directories provided by your university or system office.

9.           Can the University make changes to this information?

Only the employee can submit their “Gender Designation” and “Personal Pronoun” upon hire or make changes through the My Profile section of My UI Info.

The University will change “Legal Sex” on behalf of an employee requesting a change. Documentation to process this change is required.

10.         What are my choices for “Gender Designation” and how are they defined?

The below list represents the current gender designation choices in My UI Info.

Definitions were obtained from information on following websites: 

https://pflag.org
https://transequality.org/

  • Agender - Refers to a person who does not identify with or experience any gender. Agender is different from nonbinary because many nonbinary people do experience gender.
  • Choose not to reply
  • Female/woman
  • Genderqueer/gender non-conforming - Refers to individuals who blur preconceived boundaries of gender in relation to the gender binary; they can also reject commonly held ideas of static gender identities. Sometimes used as an umbrella term in much the same way that the term queer is used, but only refers to gender, and thus should only be used when self-identifying or quoting someone who uses the term genderqueer for themselves.
  • Male/man
  • Not listed/different identity
  • Questioning/unsure - Describes those who are in a process of discovery and exploration about their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or a combination thereof. Questioning people can be of any age, so for many reasons, this may happen later in life. Questioning is a profoundly important process, and one that does not imply that someone is choosing to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer.
  • Transgender -  Often shortened to trans, from the Latin prefix for “on a different side as.” A term describing a person’s gender identity that does not necessarily match their assigned sex at birth. Transgender people may or may not decide to alter their bodies hormonally and/or surgically to match their gender identity. This word is also used as an umbrella term to describe groups of people who transcend conventional expectations of gender identity or expression—such groups include, but are not limited to, people who identify as transsexual, genderqueer, gender variant, gender diverse, and androgynous.
  • Trans female/woman - A transgender woman lives as a woman today, but was thought to be male when she was born.
  • Trans male/man - A transgender man lives as a man today, but was thought to be female when he was born.

11.          What are my choices for “Personal Pronoun” and how are they defined?

  • Choose not to reply
  • he/him/his - These pronouns can refer to people who identify as boys or men but are not limited to male people.
  • no pronouns/use only name  - Select this option if you prefer that no pronoun be used.
  • not listed/ask my pronouns  - Select this option if your personal pronoun preference is not listed.
  • she/her/hers - These pronouns can refer to people who identify as girls or women but are not limited to female people.
  • they/them/theirs  - These are neutral pronouns.
  • ze/hir/hirs – These are neutral pronouns.