{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]],"date-time":"2026-04-13T21:29:42Z","timestamp":1776115782444,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":92,"publisher":"Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)","issue":"CSCW1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,14]],"date-time":"2023-04-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1681430400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["dl.acm.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,14]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Categorization via gender is omnipresent throughout society, and thus also computing; gender identity is often requested of users before they use software or web services. Despite this fact, no research has explored how software developers approach requesting gender disclosure from users. To understand how developers think about gender in software, we present an interview study with 15 software developers recruited from the freelancing platform Upwork as well as Twitter. We also collected and categorized 917 threads that contained keywords relevant to gender from programming-related sub-forums on the social media service Reddit. 16 posts that discussed approaches to gender disclosure were further analyzed. We found that while some developers have an understanding of inclusive gender options, programmers rarely consider when gender data is necessary or the way in which they request gender disclosure from users. Our findings have implications for programmers, software engineering educators, and the broader community concerned with inclusivity.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1145\/3579461","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,16]],"date-time":"2023-04-16T17:23:07Z","timestamp":1681665787000},"page":"1-31","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1145\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Beyond the Boolean: How Programmers Ask About, Use, and Discuss Gender"],"prefix":"10.1145","volume":"7","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9999-6949","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elijah","family":"Bouma-Sims","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7167-7383","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yasemin","family":"Acar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The George Washington University, Washington, D.C., DC, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"320","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_1_1_1","volume-title":"Metrics for Reddit. https:\/\/frontpagemetrics.com Retrieved on June 22nd","year":"2021","unstructured":"2021. Metrics for Reddit. https:\/\/frontpagemetrics.com Retrieved on June 22nd, 2021."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_2_1","volume-title":"Developers need support, too: A survey of security advice for software developers. In 2017 IEEE Cybersecurity Development (SecDev)","author":"Acar Yasemin","unstructured":"Yasemin Acar, Christian Stransky, Dominik Wermke, Charles Weir, Michelle L Mazurek, and Sascha Fahl. 2017. Developers need support, too: A survey of security advice for software developers. In 2017 IEEE Cybersecurity Development (SecDev). IEEE, 22--26."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_3_1","volume-title":"AI at Google: our principles. Google. https:\/\/ai.google\/principles\/ Retrieved on September 6th","author":"Google AI.","year":"2021","unstructured":"Google AI. 2021. AI at Google: our principles. Google. https:\/\/ai.google\/principles\/ Retrieved on September 6th, 2021."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/19419899.2011.576696"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_5_1","unstructured":"American Psychological Association. 2011. Answers to your questions about transgender people gender identity and gender expression. https:\/\/www.apa.org\/topics\/lgbtq\/transgender Retrieved from https:\/\/www.apa.org\/topics\/lgbtq\/transgender."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/a0039906"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_7_1","unstructured":"Aaron Aupperlee. 2022. SCS Ph.D. Students Designed Taught New Course To Make Computer Science More Welcoming Inclusive. https:\/\/csd.cmu.edu\/news\/scs-phd-students-designed-taught-new-course-make-computer-science-more-welcoming-inclusive"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/a0023244"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.intcom.2007.10.004"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_10_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jana.2009.07.004"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_11_1","volume-title":"Gender HCI: Results To Date Regarding Issues in Problem-Solving Software. In AVI 2006 Workshop Proceedings: Gender and Interaction: Real and Virtual Women in a Male World. 4.","author":"Beckwith Laura","year":"2006","unstructured":"Laura Beckwith, Margaret Burnett, Susan Wiedenbeck, and Valentina Grigoreanu. 2006. Gender HCI: Results To Date Regarding Issues in Problem-Solving Software. In AVI 2006 Workshop Proceedings: Gender and Interaction: Real and Virtual Women in a Male World. 4."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_12_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1461444815621527"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_13_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/2056305116672486"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_14_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3134659"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_15_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/00913367.2017.1339368"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_16_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.5555\/380681"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_17_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/2676702.2676709"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_18_1","unstructured":"Meredith Broussard. 2019. The Next Frontier in Gender Rights Is Inside Databases. https:\/\/slate.com\/technology\/2019\/10\/gender-binary-nonbinary-code-databases-values.html"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_19_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3328320.3328369"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_20_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3404983.3405510"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_21_1","volume-title":"Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory","author":"Corbin Juliet","unstructured":"Juliet Corbin and Anselm Strauss. 2014. Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_22_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1555412015587603"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_23_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0959353500010001002"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_24_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0959353500010001002"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_25_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/1229039"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_26_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/symb.2"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_27_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10461-019-02753--9"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_28_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/10841806.2019.1659046"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_29_1","unstructured":"Sabrina Fonseca. 2020. Designing forms for gender diversity and inclusion. https:\/\/uxdesign.cc\/designing-forms-for-gender-diversity-and-inclusion-d8194cf1f51"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_30_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/2591062.2591175"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_31_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/15532739.2018.1500966"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_32_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"M. Paz Galupo. 20141208. Transgender microaggressions in the context of friendship: Patterns of experience across friends' sexual orientation and gender identity. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity 1 4 (20141208) 461. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1037\/sgd0000075","DOI":"10.1037\/sgd0000075"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_33_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0891243218780299"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_34_1","volume-title":"Discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research","author":"Glaser Barney G","unstructured":"Barney G Glaser and Anselm L Strauss. 2017. Discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Routledge."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_35_1","unstructured":"Darin Graham. 2019. Germans can now choose 'third gender' option on legal records. https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2019\/01\/01\/germans-can-now-choose-third-gender-option-on-legal-records"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_36_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10664-017-9517-1"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_37_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3274332"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_39_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/2675133.2675152"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_40_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/2858036.2858136"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_41_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3415195"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_42_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3313831.3376669"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_43_1","volume-title":"Constructing and enforcing\" authentic\" identity online: Facebook, real names, and non-normative identities. First Monday 21, 6","author":"Haimson Oliver L","year":"2016","unstructured":"Oliver L Haimson and Anna Lauren Hoffmann. 2016. Constructing and enforcing\" authentic\" identity online: Facebook, real names, and non-normative identities. First Monday 21, 6 (2016)."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_44_1","volume-title":"Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Association for Computing Machinary","author":"Hamidi Foad","year":"2018","unstructured":"Foad Hamidi, Morgan Klaus Scheuerman, and Stacy M Branham. 2018. Gender recognition or gender reductionism? The social implications of embedded gender recognition systems. In Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Association for Computing Machinary, New York, NY, USA, 1--13."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_45_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/2839509.2851051"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_46_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/1228175.1228264"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_47_1","volume-title":"Women in the Workplace","author":"Huang Jess","year":"2019","unstructured":"Jess Huang, Alexis Krivkovich, Irina Starikova, Lareina Yee, and Delia Zanoschi. 2019. Women in the Workplace 2019. McKinsey & Company, New York, NY, USA. 10 pages."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_48_1","unstructured":"InterAct. [n.d.]. FAQ: What is intersex?InterAct. https:\/\/interactadvocates.org\/faq\/#definition"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_49_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3173574.3173881"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_50_1","volume-title":"Kessler and Wendy McKenna","author":"Suzanne","year":"1985","unstructured":"Suzanne J. Kessler and Wendy McKenna. 1985. Gender: An Ethnomethodological Approach. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, USA."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_51_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3274357"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_52_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3449113"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_54_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.24251\/HICSS.2018.261"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_55_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3283827"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_56_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/sah0000219"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_57_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3408877.3432557"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_58_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3432919"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_59_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3443686"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_60_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/ICSME.2017.47"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_61_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1108\/EIHSC-09--2013-0017"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_62_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/ICSE-SEIS.2019.00012"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_63_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/02668734.2017.1384933"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_64_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/MSR.2019.00031"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_65_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11930-017-0111--8"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_66_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3359174"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_67_1","volume-title":"Dynamics On and Of Complex Networks III, Fakhteh Ghanbarnejad, Rishiraj Saha Roy, Fariba Karimi, Jean-Charles Delvenne","author":"Medvedev Alexey N.","unstructured":"Alexey N. Medvedev, Renaud Lambiotte, and Jean-Charles Delvenne. 2019. The Anatomy of Reddit: An Overview of Academic Research. In Dynamics On and Of Complex Networks III, Fakhteh Ghanbarnejad, Rishiraj Saha Roy, Fariba Karimi, Jean-Charles Delvenne, and Bivas Mitra (Eds.). Springer International Publishing, Cham, 183--204."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_68_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/15538605.2012.648583"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_69_1","volume-title":"Invisible lives: The erasure of transsexual and transgendered people","author":"Namaste Viviane","unstructured":"Viviane Namaste. 2000. Invisible lives: The erasure of transsexual and transgendered people. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, USA."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_70_1","volume-title":"The Verge. Retrieved","author":"O'Kane Sean","year":"2015","unstructured":"Sean O'Kane. 2015. Facebook stops defining gender for its users. The Verge. Retrieved August 30, 2021 from https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2015\/2\/26\/8116527\/facebook-custom-gender-options"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_71_1","volume-title":"Intersex and Identity: The Contested Self","author":"Preves Sharon E.","unstructured":"Sharon E. Preves. 2003. Intersex and Identity: The Contested Self. Rutgers University Press, Rutgers, NY, USA."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_72_1","volume-title":"Factors affecting software developers' performance: An integrated approach. MIS quarterly 16, 3","author":"Rasch Ronald H","year":"1992","unstructured":"Ronald H Rasch and Henry L Tosi. 1992. Factors affecting software developers' performance: An integrated approach. MIS quarterly 16, 3 (1992), 395--413."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_73_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3109\/09540261.2015.1106446"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_74_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.amepre.2019.11.002"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_75_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3361108"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_76_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3274424"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_77_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3411764.3445742"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_78_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3359246"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_79_1","volume-title":"HCI guidelines for gender equity and inclusivity","author":"Scheuerman Morgan Klaus","year":"2020","unstructured":"Morgan Klaus Scheuerman, Katta Spiel, Oliver L Haimson, Foad Hamidi, and Stacy M Branham. 2020. HCI guidelines for gender equity and inclusivity. UMBC Faculty Collection (2020)."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_80_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3392866"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_81_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/32.799955"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_82_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1606\/1044--3894.2017.98.33"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_83_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3218585.3218673"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_84_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/1472--6963--12--110"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_85_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3461778.3462033"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_86_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3338283"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_87_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3290607.3310425"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_88_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3301019.3323898"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_89_1","unstructured":"Susan Stryker. 2009. Transgender History. Seal Press Berkley CA USA. http:\/\/ebookcentral.proquest.com\/lib\/cm\/detail.action?docID=680024"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_90_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1561\/1100000056"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_91_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/d41586-020-02145--3"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_92_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0891243287001002002"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_93_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0891243208326529"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_94_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11390-016-1672-0"}],"container-title":["Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/dl.acm.org\/doi\/10.1145\/3579461","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/dl.acm.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1145\/3579461","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,17]],"date-time":"2025-06-17T17:51:24Z","timestamp":1750182684000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dl.acm.org\/doi\/10.1145\/3579461"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,14]]},"references-count":92,"journal-issue":{"issue":"CSCW1","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,14]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1145\/3579461"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1145\/3579461","relation":{},"ISSN":["2573-0142"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2573-0142","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,14]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2023-04-16","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}]}}