Integrating Gender Perspective into Statistics

1. UGANDA BUREAU OF STATISTICS Integrating Gender Perspective into Statistics, 4th-7th December, 2012 Grand Imperial Hotel, Kampala, Uganda By Nassolo Stella, Gender Statistician, UBOS Tuesday, 4th December, 2012

2. Outline • Introduction • UBOS mandate, objectives, strategic direction • Gender Statistics development • Institutional arrangement for gender mainstreaming-roles of Gender Statistics Unit • Coordination mechanisms • Progress on Gender Statistics • Initiatives on gender statistics development • Challenges & constraints in gender mainstreaming statistics • Operational • Technical

3. Introduction • UBOS Mandate • The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) is a semi-autonomous body established by an Act of Parliament (1998) to promote the production of reliable official statistics & ensure the development & maintenance of the National Statistical System (NSS). • The NSS includes various actors namely;producers, suppliers, users of data.

4. UBOS MANDATE • Production of quality statistics requires the; • Collection, analysis & dissemination of integrated gender responsive data. • Establishment and strengthening of mechanisms for the coordination, monitoring & supervision of gender statistics activities in NSS.

5. Strategic Direction UBOS developed a five- year Plan for National Statistical Development (PNSD)-NSDS as a comprehensive strategy for strengthening and improving development of a responsive National Statistical System. The PNSD-NSDS underlines the need to engender statistics.

6. Gender Statistics Development in the NSS • In order to main stream gender in statistics development, UBOS has among other things; • Embraced the global agenda of increasing availability & use of Gender Statistics; • Strategically highlighted gender statistics as a key output in statistics production – under the Plan for National Statistical Development (PNSD) framework. • Established & recruited staff for the Gender Statistics Unit -Responsible for supporting gender mainstreaming in statistics.

7. Roles of the Gender Statistics Unit • To support efforts on gender mainstreaming (GMS) in statistics production & development by; • Supporting statistical programmes and activities to generate & disseminate demand-driven gender responsive statistics. • Providing support to engender the data throughout the statistics value chain. i. e. survey/census planning - data collection – analysis-reporting – dissemination-utilization and archiving. • Promoting dialogue & collaboration between statistics actors (producers, suppliers, users, Research and training Institutions) to establish data user needs. • Developing & strengthening capacity for production of gender responsive statistics.

8. Coordination mechanisms (1) • Under the PNSD implementation framework UBOS constituted the Inter Agency Committee (IAC) with representation from implementing Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). • Gender Statistics Sub Committees was established and operationalised under the IAC. • A UBOS Gender Statistics Committee was constituted with representation from all Directorates/Divisions. • (Both committees promote gender mainstreaming in statistics production and use).

9. Coordination mechanisms (2) • Gender Statistics Sub Committee • Co-chaired by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social development (MGLSD) and UBOS and comprises of MDAs, Civil Society Organizations, development partners. • Operates under clear Terms of References (TORs). • Current membership is of 25 member Institutions engaged in gender & statistics related activities.

10. Initiatives on gender statistics development (1) • Development of a gender statistics strategy and operational plan; • Conducting training for gender statistics stakeholders; • Conducting seminars to create awareness amongst UBOS staff on gender statistics; • Gender profiling (under progress) to develop an inventory for gender statistics for users; • Design and integration of gender and time use variables into the UNHS V and labour survey modules.

11. Gender Statistics Activities (1) • Production of gender specific reports-initial efforts have been on Sex Disaggregated Data. • Hold regular Sub Committee meetings to share progress and facilitate in depth GDD analysis. (e.g. Time Used Data Analysis of the existing survey data). • Conducted a Participatory Gender Audit (PGA) to establish existing efforts in gender mainstreaming and suggest ways on how best GMS in statistics production.

12. Gender statistics Activities (2) • Engendering survey processes for example; survey/census instruments / questionnaires namely; • Uganda National Household Survey (UNHS), • Uganda Demographic Health Survey (UDHS), • The Population and Housing Census (UPHC), • The Uganda Census of Agriculture (UCA).

13. Challenges & constraints in gender mainstreaming statistics (1) • Operational • Poor attitude and lack of support for Gender Statistics, • Potential data users do not know what they need • No effective demand for GDD. • Inadequate funding for gender statistics , • Reaching out to all the actors is currently not possible, • Inappropriate prioritization for gender statistics production needs, thus overwhelming GDD needs.

14. Challenges & Constraints in gender mainstreaming statistics (2) • Technical • No specific reference document on gender statistics • Lack of harmonised & standard concepts, terminologies & definitions. • The scope of gender statistics is not clearly defined. • There are methodological limitations to guide indepth analysis for GDD, due to; • Change in phrasing and concepts used, • Limited information on existing data for GDD analysis • Data capture- tools are not engendered.

15. Thank you for your attention