What is one important step we need to take if we want to improve the lives of women and girls? We need to make sure their lived realities are captured by traditional data systems. This goal is at the heart of our partnerships with data producers.
The data ecosystem is complex and multilayered. Data is produced at the international and national levels, by countries and multilateral organizations, through surveys, censuses, and administrative data. These sources make up the established data system, and they are complemented by new data sources, like digital data.
Data to track progress on gender equality and inform gender equitable decision making comes from all these sources, but the data that is produced is often not sufficient to measure key aspects of the lives of women and girls. These gender data gaps result from lack of investment in data collection on topics that are particularly relevant to women and girls; because the way that data is collected does not allow for sex-disaggregation; because the questions we ask unintentionally exclude women and girls or miss opportunities to learn about their lives; and because we are not investing resources in analytical approaches to turn gender data into unbiased knowledge.