Gender Data and Statistics

The Issue

The 2030 Agenda sets out a historic and unprecedented level of ambition to “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by 2030” (Sustainable Development Goal 5) and includes 51 gender-related targets in 10 other SDGs. The 2030 Agenda commits to addressing core issues of gender equality such as eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls, eradicating discriminatory laws and constraints on sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, recognizing, and valuing unpaid care and domestic work, and increasing women’s participation in decision-making. 

To successfully track the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, a robust and equally ambitious monitoring framework is needed. Yet, countries are often hindered by:

• Weak policy space and legal and financial environment to produce gender statistics at the national level
• Technical challenges within national statistical systems (NSSs) that limit the production of gender statistics
• Lack of access and limited capacity on the part of users to analyze gender statistics to inform policies.

The lack of adequate and quality gender data and evidence not only makes it impossible to adequately monitor the implementation of the SDGs, but also impedes progress in making gender-responsive decisions and creating informed and effective policies.  

Our Solutions

The Women Count Programme 

UN Women is implementing the programme “Making Every Woman and Girl Count: Supporting the Monitoring and Implementation of the SDGs through Better Production and use of Gender Statistics” to support countries in implementing the 2030 Global Agenda.

Known as Women Count in short, the programme builds on UN Women’s unique normative, policy, programmatic and coordination mandates. It aims to achieve this through a radical shift in the production, availability, accessibility and use of quality data and statistics on key aspects of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Women Count has a strong presence in East and Southern Africa (ESA) with a regional project covering, as well as pathfinder projects underway in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.

UN Women in Action 

UN Women in Action

Enabling Environment

Production of Quality Gender Data

Uptake and Use