Gender and Inclusion

Include the collection and publication of high-value gender data in right to information (RTI) protections, including rules on archive management and proactive disclosure requirements. For example, in countries with lists of proactive data to be published, ensure that high-value gender data is on that list. For details on RTI best practices, see the “Right to Information” chapter of the Open Gov Guide.

Ensure that any framework laws on data protection and the ethical use of automated decision-making, including the establishment or enhancement of a Data Protection Authority, explicitly refer to the protection of gender data. Though the use of “big data” tools can help accelerate efforts to close gaps in collecting gender data, it is critical to ensure that the government creates appropriate safeguards to protect individual rights and ensure an appropriate plan for use, storage, and disposal. For detailed guidance on digital governance reforms, please see the “Automated Decision-Making, Algorithms, and Artificial Intelligence” chapter of the Open Gov Guide.

Prioritize the allocation of sufficient dedicated funding for gender data within the budgets of national statistical offices (NSOs) and in the budgets of implementing agencies. Budget commitments increase the likelihood that gender data collection, analysis, and dissemination efforts will be funded. Publishing such budget allocations can also help promote accountability. For details, see the “Open Budgets” chapter of the Open Gov Guide.

• The NSO or open data body can conduct training sessions with public officials to ensure they have the knowledge necessary to carry out data-related tasks.
• Consider creating an incentive program to encourage public officials to further develop their fluency with open data best practices in general, and open gender data in particular.

Prioritize the inclusion of gender data in agency or ministerial work plans. One key agency that should prioritize the integration of gender data is NSOs, especially in planning national-level statistical data collection, analysis, and reporting activities each year. Other examples include gender-specific ministries, which can increase their use of gender data in planning and implementing policies and programs.

• Chile mandates that each ministry develops an annual commitment to fulfill gender-related data goals that are evaluated by the Ministry of Women and Gender Equality in close coordination with the Office of the President. The tracking of gender data by Chile’s financial sector regulatory body illustrates how such commitments translate into real-world change. When the regulatory body began requiring banks to collect sex-disaggregated data on savings account holders, it led to the discovery of inequalities in the banking sector. For example, the regulator found that women have lower deposit rates and lower numbers of commercial loans. The government uses these annual findings to adjust policies on topics such as financial inclusion, housing, and credit.

Mandate the coordination of high-value gender data collection and publication through a new or existing body (such as the NSO). The implementing body would coordinate or aggregate the data practices of agencies and ministries that produce key gender data sources, such as population censuses, household surveys, and administrative data. Specific tasks for the implementing agency include managing cross-sector data collection and prioritizing high-value datasets for proactive disclosure.

• Strengthening collaboration between the NSO and ministries with a high-priority gender data portfolio, in particular, is crucial to improving government-wide coordination, such as by aligning data collection, analysis, and dissemination efforts.
• According to Open Data Watch’s 2023 Gender Data Compass report, about 95 percent of statistics-related laws refer to the “importance of coordination between the NSO and other agencies that produce statistical data.” Though most laws do not specifically reference gender, this legal foundation can help catalyze greater coordination in the collection, publication, and use of gender data.

Ensure that government gender data collection is standardized and disaggregated according to multiple characteristics, such as age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disability, migration status, and location. The collection and publication of disaggregated gender data on the impact of government policies and programs on beneficiaries is necessary to target the unique needs of the populations they serve. Below are examples of how to expand data collection in priority areas for gender data, as well as suggestions for new data collection methods. For a full list of high-priority gender data to collect and publish, see the “High-Priority Gender Data Checklist” in the box below.

• Labor data: Implement time-use and labor force surveys to regularly collect gender data on employment, unpaid care work, and time allocation, all of which are underrepresented in gender datasets. This could also include labor data on government employees—Honduras committed to a similar initiative in its 2023–2025 OGP action plan. According to the 2023 Gender Data Compass report, these surveys provide “indispensable insights into the dynamics of labor and the distribution of responsibilities within households and communities, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of gender dynamics and inequalities.”
  • For example, in Uruguay, time-use surveys quantified women’s unpaid care work, which helped support advocacy efforts to create an integrated national care system, including “expanded services for preschool children, the elderly and people with disabilities.”
• Health data: Expand the scope of health data collected by the government, including on maternal mortality rates and other vital statistics. For example, UN Women recommends the consistent collection of information such as the cause of death or sex of victims and perpetrators, which could be used to inform progress toward the SDGs and other metrics. Efforts to expand the scope of administrative data collection and publication requireimproving civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS), health administration, and education administration systems through long-term financial and technical investments.
• Household surveys: The NSO and other bodies focused on promoting best practices (such as a national science body or social science institution) can promote best practices to ensure statistical research is gender-sensitive. For example, expanding the scope of household surveys, which often serve as the primary source of gender data. Adding a specialized survey on gender-based violence as part of the regular household survey process would better capture the experience of women and girls to guide policy and programming. Another example is to include the collection of intra-household data, which aims to capture information about every member of the household. According to the 2023 Gender Data Compass report, such an approach “not only recognizes the unique roles and experiences of each individual but also ensures that gender data are as comprehensive and inclusive as possible.”
• Emerging technology: Consider using emerging technology to collect and publish gender data, such as digitizing records, to increase the breadth and depth of data available, as well as the frequency of updates.
• Public participation: Working with research institutions and networks can also support the integration of community priorities and perspectives into gender data collection and publication.

Publish disaggregated, government-held gender data at the individual level to improve the ability of government and non-government actors to analyze datasets for gender-specific insights through the coordination of the implementing body. Such data could be published on a centralized dashboard managed by the implementing body, where relevant government bodies can also upload their gender data and metadata in free, machine-readable formats and standardize vocabulary to make such information easier to analyze. The implementing body should also publish gender data regularly to make it easier to identify trends and progress over time. Finally, all gender data should be published with appropriate personal data protections.

• One way to effectively broaden data accessibility is to create a government-wide “open with a purpose” policy, which emphasizes intentional data-sharing practices to align with specific goals and outcomes, such as promoting gender equity and addressing gender-based violence. Structuring the policy as “open with a purpose” can lay the foundation for an “open by default” standard to maximize access to data unless explicitly restricted. Such a policy could also require that all data be made publicly available with a limited number of exemptions, such as security or privacy protections.
• Improving census and CRVS systems can ensure the regular collection and publication of gender data. Census and CRVS systems can be used to provide reliable information on the demographics of people living within a country. According to the 2023 Gender Data Compass report, starting with these two systems could have an outsized impact on the production of gender data.

Use standardized coding across datasets related to gender to ensure that data in different databases can be used together, which increases accountability. Ensuring the successful centralization of gender data requires that data collected across government agencies and at the subnational level share a standardized coding system. This may include consistent ways of coding demographics across datasets or reducing duplication of data where there is no additional data. This allows data users to make connections across datasets to track trends and identify disparities. The Republic of Korea provides a good example of what a centralized, interoperable gender database looks like in practice.

• Making sure the codes for different gender identity categories are consistent is an example of how to ensure interoperability across datasets. For example, in the United States, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology established common coding for gender identity related to health data, as well as for race, ethnicity, and sex assigned at birth.

Consult those using the data (especially researchers, journalists, and data collaboratives) in an advisory capacity to ensure data is useful and usable. Specifically, the agency responsible for gender data collection can assess the demand for specific types of gender data, data users’ needs, and the performance of existing data platforms. The agency can also take a participatory approach to decision-making on what gender data to publish, such as through a multi-stakeholder committee.

Provide tailored training for different non-government actors working on areas relevant to implementing agencies. This can include CSOs, journalists, the private sector, academics, and members of the general public. This is necessary to create a baseline understanding of what open gender data is, why it matters, where to find it, and how it can be used to monitor progress on gender-related commitments.

Conduct consultations where relevant members of the public can inform decision-making, such as in the identification of gender-related priorities for data collection or the design of pilots to collect new types of data. Ensure that such consultations include targeted outreach to the specific communities whose data will be collected and assessed. Examples of this include deliberative models of participation at national and local levels. The implementing agency can lead such consultations.

Create or strengthen independent audit and legislative oversight mechanisms to use open gender data in assessing whether government funds are spent effectively and equitably on policies related to gender inequality and similar issues. An RTI Commission, ombudsman, or similar body could also play an oversight role in enforcing an RTI law, statistical laws, and regulations related to data disclosure to ensure that data conforms to the law and is accurate and free of political influence.

• This includes publishing audit reports in an easy-to-find location (such as a central portal) and a structured format. Consider conducting a campaign to amplify the reach of the reports with users of such data (such as CSOs and journalists) and the general public.