COMMENT | Limited gender data deepens inequalities

COMMENT | The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been disproportionately felt by women, from their health to security, social protection and financial stability.

It deepened pre-existing gender inequalities and highlighted the need for gender data to guide effective decision making by governments.

As Amina Mohammed, United Nations deputy secretary-general, once said, “Data is the lifeblood of decision-making and the raw material for accountability”.

Gender data reflects the experiences and situations of women and men, girls and boys, transgender men and women, and non-binary people.

It is needed to understand progress and challenges in gender equality. It can help set priorities, design better policies that cover different populations, plan and assess the impact of interventions for particular groups.

We need to know what policies or programmes work, why, how and for who, considering the perspectives of all involved. Without accurate and timely gender data, resources may...