Data helps design better, more intuitive products, services and experiences, but if that data isn’t accurate, it does more harm than good.

Trans and non-binary communities are unaccounted for and misrepresented by most business data sets. We know there are millions of people who make up these communities worldwide, but we don’t have true numbers or data on them. That’s because we’re asking the wrong questions.

If a form asks for someone’s gender, and there are only two choices, people are going to lie. If a person’s information is not correctly collected, stored or used, systems can’t understand or innovate with them in mind.

When the New Zealand Government didn’t update the 2018 census to be gender inclusive, Spark stepped in to bring an underground problem to light and rally businesses to be the start of a solution.

Beyond Binary Code rewrites the internet to see more than two genders. Co-created with rainbow mental health organisations and trans and non-binary communities, it’s a single piece of a code that can be added to any website to make data forms and fields gender inclusive.

The idea contains four key elements:

1. A code builder tool. Helps businesses understand whether they need to collect gender data at all, and if so, customises code to suit their needs.

2. Downloadable HTML code. Added (or adapted) to any website to instantly update forms and fields.

3. Resources to help businesses on their beyond binary journey. Getting business buy-in, implementing the code (specifically for small businesses), understanding data privacy obligations and/or the ripple effect gender data points have on an entire business.

4. Non-binary community members are the star of the idea. Leading the film, sharing stories, giving advice and promoting the idea.

Data on the communities we were helping is unaccounted for at a national level. But a single piece of code had the power to change that — not just for businesses, but for the whole community.

The campaign intersects three key ambitions of Spark:

1. Help New Zealanders have a better relationship with their data. Visibility and control of how their gender identity is represented online.

2. Improve the sophistication of NZ businesses’ datascapes, enabling better customer relationships.Giving business customer’s agency to fight assumptions and design with respect.

3. Lift digital inequities for communities. Working specifically with rainbow mental health organisations and trans and non-binary communities to improve digital wellbeing.

By changing the way New Zealand businesses collect and use customer data, Beyond Binary Code achieves each of Spark’s ambitions and gives an entire country better experiences with the businesses they interact with.

Building better data sets.

From the moment a form is filled out, its data goes on to inform a number of business decisions and customer interactions — targeted ads, personalised content and experiences with frontline staff.

If these forms are ill-fitting to trans and non-binary individuals, all of their data, and thus, their experiences with that business, are going to be inaccurate, and worse, hurtful or dangerous.

By rewriting the way gender data is captured and whether it should even be captured in the first place, new inclusive datascapes can be created that benefit everyone.

To do this research was conducted with trans and non-binary communities and progressive businesses to identity:

When, where, why and how gender related data is captured by businesses and how it’s used to feed marketing, innovation and design systems

What are the appropriate, respectful and culturally nuanced data points that best represent the diversity of genders in New Zealand that need to be added to customer datascapes

Using inclusive data sets to create a compelling business case.

Data on trans and non-binary communities is widely unaccounted for at a national level, making it hard for allies and progressive individuals to get stakeholder buy-in. To help form a business case, our pre-made Presentation Kit pulled qualitative and quantitative data on trans and non-binary experiences. Arming employees with reasons to rewrite how gender data is captured that made sense on a business and human level.

Unlocking new experiences with data.

Next, we supported businesses with the materials to understand how a seemingly small data point like gender, actually has a huge impact on all parts of business. Resources included guides on what customer journey touchpoints need to be redesigned to be in-line with their new inclusive datascape, like public spaces, marketing audience frameworks and call centre scripts.

Launched two weeks prior to Cannes submissions, the website recorded over 10k unique views, 200+ code downloads and started meaningful conversations with 36 major businesses.

Amongst the companies to implement the code were New Zealand’s biggest digital news website and the country’s leading online ticketing/event company. Spark is currently in discussions with global cloud computing company SalesForce. Their customer management tools are used by millions of businesses around the world.

In June, Beyond Binary Code will be sent to tens of thousands of Spark business customers. The code has been written to work in HTML and Java script as well as Wix, SquareSpace, WordPress and other direct-to-market website building software.

Beyond Binary Code is designed to be an enduring resource for businesses – an open source tool and education platform that will continue to drive change for years to come.