If you are conducting a quantitative study, gender-sensitive indicators may be relevant. These can be developed alongside the gender analysis questions above. A gender-sensitive indicator is an indicator that helps to measure and assess gender inequality in a society and how it changes over time. The process discussed above to develop a gender analysis question can be used to develop a gender-sensitive indicator.

Three types of gender-sensitive indicators are defined below (57). It is important that research includes gender equality indicators in addition to sex-specific and sex-disaggregated indicators in order to be considered gender-sensitive. Table 8 ►.

4.2.1 Incorporating intersectional gender analysis questions into data collection tools

After mapping gender analysis questions against relevant infectious diseases domains, the next step is to decide which questions are the most relevant to include within your data collection tools and guide your analysis.

When deciding which questions to use to within data collection and analysis, consider:

• Which gender relations domains are most relevant for the issue under study?

• How do the gender relations domains interact?

• How might each domain affect overall outcomes of research?

• What differences between men, women and non-binary people do you need to take account of?

• Are there differences between different subgroups of men, women and/or non-binary people?

• What questions do you need to ask to probe further?

Answering these questions will help you to decide which questions to use to inform your study and why. The questions can be used to select areas of inquiry and include related appropriate questions in qualitative and quantitative data collection tools, including the development of relevant indicators.

Table 9 ► provides examples of questions.

Note that while specific intersectional questions can be included within data collection tools, often an intersectional lens will be incorporated during the sampling and analysis stage when answers to questions are compared across different demographic characteristics.

For qualitative research, however, an intersectional lens can be applied to the way in which questions are asked. For example, you may choose to ask a participant how their identity as a young unmarried woman influences their knowledge of how to prevent being bitten by a mosquito. By combining the individual’s different social identities of interest within your research, you are allowing them to identify which aspects of their identity (and the ways in which they may intersect) influence their ability to access or utilize knowledge. You can then analyse how the intersection of their different social identities may lead to increase vulnerability or marginalization.

Read Case study - The socio-economic burden of human African trypanosomiasis and the coping strategies of households in the south-western Kenya foci Box 7 ►.

View Key Resources ► for literature sources to consider reading after this section.