SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTION

• Are specific institutions/departments/units mandated and able to collect relevant data and information based on agreed upon gender impact indicators?
• Are data and information (regularly) collected at different levels of government received by and their accessibility centralised within a specific institution?
• Are data and information collected adequately circulated to relevant actors and awareness raised on remaining gaps and challenges?
• Is the national statistics bureau engaged in collecting gender disaggregated data and supporting data collection against national gender impact indicators?

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

For decision and policy making to be gender-sensitive and evidence-based, it must rely on high quality, readily accessible gender-disaggregated data. Without such data, it is very difficult to understand the impact of gender equality and mainstreaming strategies and initiatives or the consequences of policies. Data on gender equality and mainstreaming in a country should be easy to access and allow results to be tracked against national and international targets and benchmarks. Although information to measure empowerment of women and men is increasingly available in most countries, significant gaps remain in areas such as gender bias and gender-based discrimination, gender-based violence, opportunities to reconcile professional and private life and entrepreneurship. CDeveloping common regional or international indicators could encourage countries to use such measurement tools.

ACTIONS TO CONSIDER

• Sensitize and engage national statistics bureau to ensure collection of gender-disaggregated data across all sectors and in line with national gender impact indicators;
• Sensitize and engage relevant stakeholders (including NGOs, service providers, etc) to collect sex-disaggregated data against national gender impact indicators and in fields relevant to measure progress regarding national gender equality goals;
• Promote national, regional and international coordination and cooperation mechanisms to promote consistent gender equality data collection and measurement;
• Require data disaggregation by gender, as well as the incorporation of a gender perspective within national statistical legislation;
• Ensure that reliable data management systems are in place for collecting gender-disaggregated data.

PITFALLS TO AVOID

• Gender impact indicators are vague and do not allow for tracking results against targets and/or for comparison with international and regional benchmarks;
• Data collecting and producing bodies lack the necessary resources to strengthen gender focus and regularize sex disaggregation (training, specialized expertise, budget) to produce gender-disaggregated data;
• Relevant data and information are collected not regularly and not across all sectors;
• Data and information collected remain stored across multiple institutions and are not easily accessible.