A Case for Gender Statistics in National Statistical System Mr. Pali Lehohla Statistics South Africa 26 January 2009

1. A Case for Gender Statistics in National Statistical System Mr. Pali Lehohla Statistics South Africa 26 January 2009

2. What the intervention covers • Gender and official statistics legislation • UN fundamental Principles for official statistics and Gender • Gaps in systems regarding Gender • What needs to be done and what should be done

3. Gender and Official Statistics • Mandated by statistical legislation e.g. Statistics Act of South Africa, No. 6 of 1999 calls for the collection of “gender-disaggregated data”. • Statistical legislation is otherwise silent on gender statistics with respect to : • Defining specifically WHO provides these statistics Defining WHAT activities (data collection, publishing statistics, providing statistical advice to support policy work) must be taken into account to ensure good gender statistics • b) Defining the outputs (published statistics on labour markets, crime, health …) • c) Defining the institutional collaborations required for the production of good gender statistics

4. UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics • Equally silent on gender statistics but FOUR Principles do allude to the relevance of building a case for production of gender statistics: • Principle 1: Relevance, impartiality and equal access • Principle 7: Legislation • Principle 8: National coordination • Principle 9: International standards

5. Gender, Official Statistics and National Statistical Systems (NSS) • Whichever approach to official statistics is taken, there are additional questions about the scope of what needs to be done to ensure a national statistical system in favour of gender statistics: • What people, services or outputs should be included? • What is the role of official statistics in promoting the advancement of women? • How can the national statistical system strengthen and coordinate gender statistics?

6. Gender, Official Statistics and the NSS (cont.) • Acknowledgement is made of significant contribution of women to sustainable development • Acknowledgement is made of legislative framework permitting full participation of men and women in all aspects of social and economic development, equitable access to productive resources • Acknowledgement is made of existing frameworks that allow policy-makers and planners to gain a clearer understanding of the dynamics operating at the household and community levels. This would enable them to formulate more gender-responsive national policies • Acknowledgement is also made of the need to fill data gaps.

7. Gender, Official Statistics and the NSS (cont.) • 1. WHERE ARE THE GAPS? • (a) In an “era of communication” growing information on the productive roles of men and women is often not sufficiently substantiated by reliable statistics. • Notorious deficiencies and shortcomings of gender data include the absence of reliable sources, a lack of precision, and weakness of analysis. • Quite often, these statistics are too limited in scope and coverage, and do not allow for generalization.

8. 1. Where are the Gaps? (cont.) • (b) Gender-related information also suffers from a weak dissemination system. When data are available, they are usually diffused only partially and selectively without a real awareness of the target audience • (c) The generation and use of information on gender issues compete with many other priorities • (d) Generally speaking, developing countries suffer from the failure of statistical systems to respond to data needs. As a result, they do not have the social, demographic, economic data needed for accurate development planning.

9. 2. What are the Gender Data Gaps within the NSS? • Gender disaggregated data is needed on: • Political participation • Education • Health • Crime • Economic activities, contribution, access to productive resources • Energy • etc • In summary voice, rights and resources • “No data, no visibility - no visibility, no priority”

10. 2. Weaknesses of Gender-Specific Statistics Lack of adequate concepts, definitions and methodswithin the national statistical system to adequately reflect the different role and contributions of women and men in society; Uncoordinated efforts within the NSS in the collection, analysis and dissemination of gender statistics creates certain problems: Cultural and religious factors, stereotypes and local customs that contribute to making women less visible and prevent both enumerators and respondents from providing correct and reliable information as a result of inconsistent efforts at building national capacity in gender statistics; Under-utilization of existing gender statistics as a feature of inconsistent dissemination of statistics; Lack of communication between producers and users of data as a feature of uncoordinated NSS strategy;

11. What Needs to be done for an Effective NSS? Gender statistics are frequently not produced because of a lack of interest and demand from potential users and an ill-prepared NSS In order to formulate statistical needs accurately, a strategic collective is required by policy-makers, public and private development practitioners, NGOs and other involved users of gender-related data need to consider the following points: Gender awareness and a minimum of gender analysis expertise are essential for their activities; The institutionalization of a gender approach can facilitate collaboration between users and producers of data; Methodological guidance is needed both in the collection phase and during the tabulation and analysis stages; Resources (such as time and funds) need to be made available since gender statistics are rarely included in existing development plans and budgets.

12. What needs to be done? (cont.) • This dialogue is particularly important in the determination of the categories of data to be collected and the selection of indicators. • Relevant data collection will also depend on the ability of statisticians to extend their horizons to social and gender issues. • Users (such as gender experts and decision-makers) to upgrade their skills in order to understand, interpret and use statistical data correctly. • Collaboration can be furthered through workshops, technical committees, expert consultations and the integration of statisticians in policy-making processes.

13. THANK YOU