Integrating Gender into Population and Housing Censuses

1. Integrating Gender into Population and Housing Censuses Margaret Mbogoni Demographic and Social Statistics Branch Statistics Division, DESA United Nations, New York

2. What are gender statistics? • Gender statistics is about identifying, producing, disseminating, and analyzing statistics to understand how gender issues affect individuals and society • Gender statistics is not about women only, but about the role of both women and men in society • It’s about making better statistics

3. What are gender statistics? Statistics reflecting gender issues in all relevant policy areas Quality statistics by sex, age and other relevant characteristics

4. Integrating a gender perspective in statistical production • Requires taking into consideration the different cultural, economic, social and political factors shaping the lives of women and men at all stages of the production of statistics

5. Planning & Design Analysis Presentation & Dissemination Methods Data Collection & Processing Integrating a gender perspective into population and housing censuses Should take place at all stages of the census operation: -Tabulations -Analysis -Government commitment -Consultations on content and operations -Topic selection -Publicity campaign -Concepts, definitions, classifications (language used) -Recruitment of field staff -Training of field staff on gender sensitization -Respondent selection -Checking, imputation

6. Integrating a gender perspective into census planning and design • Government and institutional commitment • Gender sensitization and awareness • Identify and take into account gender issues, various stereotypes and biases, and social and cultural factors, as well as research methodologies that might produce gender bias Statistical systems that produce relevant data for development of policy on gender equality

7. Integrating a gender perspective into census planning and design • Consultations with gender specialists (user-producer dialogue) • Review existing data, concepts, methods, topics, publicity campaign and advocate for improvements to better reflect activities and contributions made by women and men • Identify their own data needs Objective of the user-producer efforts is not simply better information on women and men, but improvements in measuring the realities of economic and social life

8. Integrating a gender perspective into census planning and design • Topic specifications: Consider relevant gender issues • Household head/reference person • Detailed household relationships • Marital status • Work and economic activity • Access to and ownership of assets • Unpaid work • School attendance • Fertility • Add new question(s) • Expand response categories to a question • Change how questions are asked to make them less gender-biased

9. Integrating a gender perspective into census planning and design • Concepts, definitions, classifications where biases predominate • Household relationships • Marital status • Definition of work • Publicity campaign for the census • Raise awareness about gender issues in general public • Publicity material concerning gender issues

10. Census planning and design: An example • Topic specification: Access to and ownership of assets • Example: Nepal 2011 Census introduced individual level questions on ownership of house and land for female household members • Does any female member of household own a house in any part of Nepal? • Does any female member of household own land in any part of Nepal? Source: Engendering Population Census in South and West Asia: Collected Papers. UNFPA, 2004.

11. Integrating a gender perspective into censuses: Methods • Concepts, definitions and classifications: Review adequacy • Household head • Work and economic activity • Marital status • Unit of collection: Define appropriate level • Access to and control over assets • Reference period • Consider timing of seasonal activities • Questionnaire and language: Consider choice of words • Give examples of activities to better capture gender issues, e.g., women’s work

12. Integrating a gender perspective into censuses: Data collection and processing • Enumerator hiring and training • Gender balance in hiring • Focus training on meaning and use of concepts relevant to gender issues • Raise awareness among enumerators of sex-based stereotypes • Respondent selection • Consider impact of male/female respondent • Consider presence of other persons during interview • Checking and imputation • Avoid imputations based on gender stereotypes, e.g., coding of occupational groups

13. Integrating a gender perspective into census data collection: An example State of Palestine 2007 census, females made up: • 53% of the total employed staff • 20% of the top management of the census staff • 55% of the enumerators • 46% of the fieldwork supervisors • 57% of editing and coding staff • 58% of data entry staff

14. Integrating a gender perspective into censuses: Analysis and presentation • Tabulation and analysis • Include sex and age • Include other relevant characteristics • Emphasize key gender issue in data presentation • Provide simple, clear message

15. Integrating a gender perspective into censuses: Analysis and presentation Source: Labour Force Survey, October 2014, Office for National Statistics, UK

16. Integrating a gender perspective into censuses: Analysis and presentation Source: Labour Force Survey, October 2014, Office for National Statistics, UK

17. Integrating a gender perspective into censuses: Analysis and presentation Source: Labour Force Survey, October 2014, Office for National Statistics, UK

18. Employment Rate for Women and Men by Presence of Young Children, Ireland - 2011 Source: Women and Men in Ireland, 2011, Central Statistics Office, Ireland

19. Summary • Gender statistics is about making better statistics • Gender mainstreaming should be conducted at all stages in the census production process: • From planning and design • Through methods, field operations and data processing • To data tabulation, analysis and presentation

20. Thank you شكرا