The Report
The 2023 Gender Data Compass (GDC) Report reveals a stark reality. Many countries face significant challenges in producing the necessary gender indicators to monitor progress toward equitable and sustainable development. For example, it finds that, on average, countries do not publish 30 percent of gender-relevant indicators and, where data are published, 48 percent are not sex disaggregated. If sex-disaggregated data are available, they are often not disaggregated by other sub-groups, such as age, disability status, race, or location. Child immunization is the least likely indicator to be published with sex-disaggregation. Gender data are less accessible and usable than non-gender data. Only 23 countries publish all gender data under an open license and no country publishes all gender data in at least one open format. Only 1 in 8 national statistical plans mainstream gender data. Only 1 out of 5 countries have budgets allocated for gender data, and external financing for gender data is irregular and concentrated among a very small pool of donors.
Among the key findings of the GDC 2023 report is that improving the enabling environment for gender disaggregated data actually acts as a catalyst for better data in other sectors. The report consequently looks at legal, policy, and coordination frameworks as well as the availability of data from surveys or censuses covering household, health, income, expenditure, labor, time-use, agricultural, and other multi-topic household surveys. Such data can provide insights into a population’s socio-economic standard of living, in particular uncovering gender gaps across domains such as access to social services, health, financial services, and many more. Nearly a quarter of countries are missing the most basic data on their populations, despite most countries conducting a census in 2020. A fully functioning administrative system should have the capacity to register all vital events (births, deaths, marriages, divorces), education outcomes (enrollment, graduation, exams), and health facilities and outcomes (such as hospital staff and cause of death data) with gender disaggregation.
As a compass helps travelers orient themselves, the Gender Data Compass looks at five cardinal points – data availability, data openness, institutional foundations, capacity, and financing. The aim is to provide helpful, practical reference points in each of 185 countries for national statistical offices, other government agencies, development practitioners, and donors interested to use GDC data for building robust, inclusive, and effective gender data systems. Identifying the factors that drive progress and making recommendations for each of the five dimensions, the GDC 2023 report takes the perspective of a user seeking essential data to inform policies by examining current data landscapes and gaps in national gender data.
The Data
Achieving gender equality demands unleashing the power of gender data. Gender data are the basis for informed decisions, policies, and actions. Gender impacts every facet of society – from economic growth to reproductive justice. With accurate and open gender data, we can better understand people’s lived experiences and accelerate progress toward a more equitable world. But our understanding of gender data is inadequate. Beyond persistent data gaps, we also lack information about the foundations of a gender data system—the people, politics, and power behind the data.
The Gender Data Compass provides interactive online access to data on the current availability and openness of 53 important gender indicators in 185 countries. Spanning the process from data collection, to production and use, GDC’s broad perspective provides both a comprehensive view of gender data systems and a practical guide for national statistical offices and their partners on the path to gender equality.
The GDC also documents the enabling environment where gender data operate. Does a country have policies and laws to encourage the production and dissemination of official gender data? Is the regulatory framework, funding landscape, and national capacity strong enough to support transformative change? These issues are crucial to understanding the deeper context in which improvements can occur.
While gender data aren’t the sole determinant of global equality, they play a pivotal role in enabling well-informed decisions. In a world filled with complex challenges, grasping the nature of such issues and their different dimensions is an essential first step toward meaningful progress. Gender data are the key to uncovering our shared reality, offering the insights needed to guide effective action toward gender equality.
The GDC can point the way to:
BUILDING BLOCKS FOR A SOUND GENDER DATA SYSTEM
No country has all the gender data needed to measure their progress toward the SDGs.
ENSURING POLITICAL SUPPORT
Countries with strong mandates and legal frameworks produce more gender data.
INVESTING IN GENDER EQUALITY
Most countries lack specific gender data allocations, and international funding is inadequate.
BUILDING COUNTRY CAPACITY
Stronger census, survey, and administrative systems yield a higher volume of gender data.
