Dear Data2X partners, allies, and friends,
I hope this email finds you and your loved ones well in these tumultuous times. The changes to our working and home conditions leave me with many questions, among them: How can we continue our work as we balance the newfound roles and responsibilities we’ve assumed? (Just in the last two weeks, I have become a full-time teacher-parent-counselor to my two young kids, alongside the privilege of leading Data2X). And how can we best support others — our families, friends, partners, and employees — as they adapt to these unexpected changes in their own lives? Many have pointed out that the unpaid care burden — disproportionately borne by women — has increased in the midst of COVID-19’s spread. And this is compounded by the fact that numerous people now find themselves out of work and without financial security.
Despite the uncertainty, I am inspired by the leadership and actions of the data, gender, and global development communities during this time. And I am mindful of how important our work on gender data is — especially as calls for disaggregating and reporting data using an intersectional lens have increased in light of COVID-19. Collecting and using gender data — in addition to disaggregating outbreak-related data by age, race, and more — is critical for tailoring the international community’s prevention and response efforts to this pandemic. While we can’t approach our work as “business as usual” — we can explore new ways of approaching our work, and many organizations are embracing this wholeheartedly.
At Data2X, we’re also navigating this new terrain. Last week, we were thrilled to convene four great panelists and over 300 attendees for a webinar to launch our new report, Mapping Gender Data Gaps: an SDG Era Update. In addition to sharing new research, the webinar was a nice reminder that we can still have important (and fun!) conversations from afar; physical distancing doesn’t mean social or intellectual distancing. And with the help of partners and friends we started a page on our website to house resources and current reporting on gender and gender data related to COVID-19 preparedness and response around the world, including the current and anticipated impacts of the pandemic. If you have additional resources to include, please email us at info@data2x.org.
If you’re looking for more content, several of our partners, including Open Data Watch, The Gov Lab at NYU, and Women in Global Health are compiling important data resources and calls-to-action related to COVID-19. And if you’re interested in additional digital learning opportunities, Equal Measures 2030 held a great webinar earlier this month about their new report, Bending the Curve Towards Gender Equality, and the UN Economic Commission for Africa’s Africa Gender Data Network — in partnership with Data2X, Open Data Watch, the World Bank, and the ILO — is holding a webinar this morning at 9 AM on good practices for gender-sensitive survey design and data collection.
As always, I am grateful for your partnership and support, and we’d love to hear what you and your organization are doing to advance your work in these challenging times.
Be well and stay healthy (at home!)
Emily Courey Pryor
Executive Director, Data2X