Now We Are 12: Ethnic and Gender Identity at 12 Years Old. Snapshot 1

At a population and policy level, how ethnicity and gender are understood and measured has important implications for assessing outcomes and addressing inequities. The Government’s Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy 2019 guides the national focus on young people, setting out goals of reducing child poverty, preventing family harm, targeting racism and discrimination and achieving equitable outcomes in the education, social and health sectors (Boston, 2014; Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2019).

Growing Up in New Zealand provides a vital opportunity to consider the development of ethnic and gender identity for children and young people in Aotearoa New Zealand, and how these change over time. Our research recognises that identity is nuanced and fluid, and that multiple aspects of identity intersect and develop over the life course in relation to a range of structural and social factors. In this report, we will highlight how young people self-describe their ethnic and gender identity at age 12. We will also present young peoples’ sense of cultural connectedness and belonging to their ethnic group(s).

The supplementary document also contained in this file includes additional information for each of the ethnic and gender identity groupings.