Key takeaways - IWD2025 Gender Data Use Roundtable Policy Discussion

One of the biggest challenges in achieving gender equality is the lack of gender-disaggregated data, which hinders effective policymaking. The 2025 International Women’s Day theme, “For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment,” highlights the urgent need to strengthen data systems to ensure women and girls are fully represented in governance and policy decisions. To address this gap, UN Women (East and Southern Africa, West and Central Africa, and Arab States), in partnership with Data2X, ICRW, and Plan International, convened a high-level policy roundtable on March 6, 2025. The event brought together policymakers, researchers, journalists, and advocates to explore strategies for improving gender data use in Africa and the Arab States.

This publication captures key insights from the roundtable, structured around three core themes: (1) the state of adolescent girls and young women based on existing gender data, (2) persistent gender data gaps and barriers, and (3) successes and opportunities for leveraging gender data in policymaking. Discussions revealed critical disparities, such as the underrepresentation of women in leadership, the invisibility of unpaid care work in national statistics, and the media’s struggle to interpret gender data effectively. Case studies, like Tanzania’s data-driven campaign to make marketplaces safer for women traders, demonstrated the transformative power of gender data in advocacy and policy reform.

The publication outlines actionable recommendations, including strengthening citizen-led data collection, enhancing media capacity for gender data storytelling, and promoting open-data governance. It also highlights the launch of a Gender Data Fellowship for African journalists, aimed at improving gender-sensitive reporting. By bridging data gaps and fostering collaboration between policymakers, researchers, and the media, this initiative underscores the vital role of gender data in advancing equality and ensuring no woman or girl is left behind.