# Missing value: gender

The "Missing value [gender]" issue means an apparel item was submitted without saying who it is for. Shopify has no gender field on products, so the information usually lives only in a collection, a tag or the title, and the feed sends nothing unless gender is mapped from one of those deliberately.

- **Canonical URL:** https://www.feedlab.io/knowledge/errors/missing-value-gender
- **Last reviewed:** 3 November 2026
- **Source:** feedlab knowledge base
- **Licence:** free to quote and cite with attribution to feedlab


## How this appears in your account

- `Missing value [gender]`
- `Missing value: size [size], color [color], gender [gender], age group [age_group]`
- `Missing value: Gender`


## Why it happens on Shopify

### Shopify has no built-in gender field

Gender is not part of the core Shopify product. Stores express it through collections such as "Women", product types, tags or the title, none of which a feed reads as gender unless told to.

### The metafield exists but is not mapped

Shopify's product taxonomy adds a target gender category metafield, and stores that used Shopify's Google channel may hold gender in its own metafields. A feed built by another tool will not pick either up automatically.

### Values are not in the accepted vocabulary

Google accepts only male, female and unisex, in English. Values such as "Women", "Herren" or "Kids" are not valid gender values and are treated as if nothing had been sent.

### The product was categorised as apparel automatically

Without a google_product_category, Google assigns one itself. Products placed in Apparel & Accessories are then asked for gender, even if they are homeware or gifts.




## How to fix it

1. **Decide where gender is recorded in your store** — Pick one reliable source: the target gender metafield, a tag convention, the product type or a collection. Collections are the weakest source because a product can sit in both "Women" and "Sale" and nothing enforces consistency.
2. **Translate store terms into male, female or unisex** — Map "Women", "Damen" and "Ladies" to female, "Men" and "Herren" to male, and anything genuinely shared to unisex. The output must be one of the three English values regardless of the store language.
3. **Default deliberately rather than silently** — If a whole category is unisex, such as socks or caps, a conditional default of unisex for that category is legitimate. A blanket default across the catalogue misdescribes products that are clearly for one gender.
4. **Check the category for non-apparel items** — If items that are not clothing are being asked for gender, supply the correct google_product_category so they leave Apparel & Accessories.



## How feedlab handles this

feedlab syncs products with their tags, product types, collections and metafields, so a conditional rule can derive gender from whichever source your store actually uses and translate it into male, female or unisex. The rule preview shows which products would still have no gender against the real catalogue before the feed is published.






## Frequently asked questions

### Which products need a gender value?

Google requires gender for products in Apparel & Accessories, for free listings and for Shopping ads targeting Brazil, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. A few accessory sub-categories, such as keychains and lanyards, are exempt.

### What values are accepted?

Only male, female and unisex, submitted in English even if the store and the rest of the feed are in another language.

### Can I just set everything to unisex?

It clears the error but misdescribes products made for men or women, which can show them for the wrong searches. Use unisex where it is true and derive the rest from your catalogue.




## Primary sources

- [Google: gender attribute specification](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324479)
- [Google: How to fix missing size, color, gender and age group](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/14916941)