Commitments
It's Time to Commit to Gender Data
Gender data is an essential tool to evaluate progress on commitments made to advance gender equality, including those related to the Generation Equality Forum, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), or national-level targets. If we can’t track it, we can’t achieve it.
Similarly, the number, quality, and relevance of gender data commitments made by national governments, bilateral donors, and other stakeholders are often indications of the demand and political will for gender data. Unfortunately, gender data is frequently underprioritized in global normative processes and underutilized in national plans and policies. If we are to sustain progress on gender equality, urgent action is needed to secure the gains of the past generation and ensure an even brighter future for the next.
We Need Bold Action to Make Gender Equality Real
Governments, donors, civil society, and the private sector must:
Collect and disaggregate gender data
Fund gender data gaps
Use gender data for policymaking
Share best practices
Increase accountability for gender data
Commitments Spotlight
Highlighted below are a range of powerful stakeholder-led commitments that are seeking to encourage the collection and analysis of gender data, fill gender data gaps, and foster gender data use.
A Coalition to Advance Gender-Just Climate Action
Women, girls, and gender-diverse groups—especially those living in poverty—face devastating threats to their livelihoods due to the climate crisis.
The Gender and Environment Data Alliance (GEDA) was established to advance gender-just climate action. Formed by the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the group brings together a coalition of diverse multi-stakeholder partners to improve accessibility, understanding, and application of gender-environment data.
A Gender Data Network to Drive Gender Equality, Accelerate Economic Recovery, and Build Resilience
Data2X, in partnership with PARIS21, Open Data Watch, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) formally commits the Gender Data Network (GDN) as a technical assistance partner to the W20.
In this role, the Gender Data Network will help guide the W20 to elevate gender data within its agenda, working to inform policy best practices that identify and respond to the needs of the most vulnerable, foster economic inclusion, and strengthen resilience.
Microsoft Releases the Digital Civility Index
Microsoft makes bold commitments to gender data backed by concrete action.
While online safety is a concern for women and girls, access to quality public data of gendered risks on the internet has lagged behind.
Stemming from their commitment to the 2021 Generation Equality Forum, data champion Microsoft released their sixth annual study on Digital Civility as a public tool. “Civility, Safety and Interaction Online – 2021,” records data about teens’ and adults’ experiences of online threats from the past six years, aiming to alleviate gender-specific risks such as misogyny, harassment, and gender-based violence.
Kenya’s Road Map for Ending Gender-Based Violence
As a leader of the Generation Equality Gender-Based Violence Action Coalition, the government of Kenya has proposed concrete actions to end all forms of gender-based violence (GBV) and female genital mutilation (FGM) by 2030.
A commitment this bold requires strong gender data solutions.
Since Generation Equality, FGM and GBV indicators are now included in Kenya’s 2022 Demographic and Health Survey. The government aims to continue strengthening the utilization of gender statistics to inform evidence-based policy and programming.
From CSW to Generation Equality and Beyond, We Must Sustain Recent Gender Data Momentum
United Nations Member States have long recognized gender data as an essential tool for driving and tracking global progress on gender equality. Following the landmark Beijing Platform for Action in 1995—in which states outlined the collection and dissemination of sex-disaggregated data as a strategic objective—the annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) has featured gender data and statistics in every set of agreed conclusions since the dawn of the 21st century. New initiatives like the Generation Equality Forum have also provided a global platform for action on gender data. From CSW to Generation Equality and beyond, global momentum for gender data is growing.
The timeline below illustrates recent global gender data milestones and highlights upcoming opportunities for engagement on gender data.
Gender Data Commitments Within the Generation Equality Forum
The Generation Equality Forum captured unprecedented attention on gender equality, generating more than 2,000 financial and programmatic commitments. But most don’t go far enough on gender data.
Gender Data is Under-Prioritized in Official Generation Equality Materials
Here is where it’s lacking:
6%
The percentage of initial Generation Equality Forum commitments that mention gender data.
1 in 4
Just 1 in 4 Generation Equality Forum commitments that mention gender data pledge to use it to inform policy and programmatic solutions.
To accelerate global progress, stakeholders across all sectors must continue to pledge commitments to gender data, both within and in addition to the Generation Equality framework.
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