Saturday August 3 2019, C3.4 & C3.5, 14:10 AEST


This talk will dive into the world of gender and the abounding misconceptions. We have a duty to build systems that allow people to truly represent themselves, and to do this requires an understanding of how to properly store and handle that information.


Many of us go through our lives without paying attention to the questions that we are asked when we sign up for a new bank, reward card, or mailing list; but for some people poorly worded, or even insensitive, questions about a person’s gender are jarring.

This talk will provide techniques to build more inclusive systems and will answer questions such as:

  • How to store a user’s gender?
  • Should a user’s gender even be stored?
  • What could a question about a user’s gender be replaced by?
  • Should gender be immutable?

CW: This talk will cover issues faced by transgender and gender diverse people.


Watch 'You might not need gender!' on PyCon AU's YouTube account

Opal Symes

Opal Symes


Opal is a Python developer with a background in building websites and online services. She dabbles in system administration and in her spare time she uses Rust and Python to remix APIs. When not programming she enjoys sewing and staring wishfully at cooking shows.