Forum on Gender Statistics 10–12 December 2007, Roma, Italy

1. Towards a More Effective Production of Gender Sensitive Data in African Countries: Ongoing and Planned Activities by the UNECA Forum on Gender Statistics 10–12 December 2007, Roma, Italy Dimitri Sanga, Ph.D. Senior Statistician

2. Outline • Background • Countries’ Development Agendas • Why are Gender Statistics Critical? • Gender Statistics Challenges in Africa • ECA’s Response to Gender Statistics Challenges • The Way Forward • Conclusions

3. Background

4. Countries’ Development Agendas • National, regional, and international initiatives aimed at promoting economic and social development in African countries • NEPAD adopted as a reference framework for the Africa’s development (2000) • The Millennium Declaration (2000, MDGs) • The Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRSs) • All these initiatives recognize that women and men face different socio-economic challenges • To be effective, they therefore, need to reflect the situation of women and men

5. Why are Gender Statistics Critical? • Thus, the importance of gender statistics in the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of these initiatives and others • Gender statistics: Data collected, compiled and analyzed taking in consideration that gender-based factors influence women’s and men’s economic, social conditions, relations, and access to resources • Gender statistics ≠ Sex disaggregated statistics • Sex: exogenous biological differences of men and women • Gender: socially constructed differences between sexes (endogenous)

6. Why are Gender Statistics Critical? (Cont’d) • Gender statistics: • Allow for unbiased evidence-based policy formulation and decision making • Address issues of inequalities and empowerment of women • Raise consciousness, persuade policy makers and other stakeholders to take into account the gender dimension in policy and decision making

7. Gender Statistics Challenges in Africa • Inadequate advocacy for gender statistics: lack of strong commitment to gender statistics development by NSS • Lack of mainstreaming of gender statistics in statistical programmes and activities • Lack of technical skills and adequate statistical infrastructure (sampling frames, classifications, concepts, definitions and methods) • Inadequate gender sensitive data management (archiving, analysis, and dissemination)

8. ECA’s Response to Gender Statistics Challenges

9. Selected UNECA’s Initiatives • ECA’s initiatives aimed at addressing gender statistics challenges include: • The development of the African Gender and Development Index (AGDI) • Engendering the P&R on Population and Housing Censuses • Setting up an African gender statistics network • Engendering agricultural and trade statistics • Dissemination of methodologies and tools for the development of gender sensitive data • Advocating and initiating the undertaking of Time Use surveys

10. The AGDI • A composite index made of two components: • The Gender Status Index (GSI): captures quantitatively measurable issues related to gender equality • The African Women’s Progress Scoreboard (AWPS): measures government policy performance regarding transformation of social institutions that affect women’s advancement and empowerment • 3 blocks, 7 components, 12 sub components, 42 indicators • Some desirable features of the AGDI? • Incorporation of qualitative issues • Monitoring mechanism to assess performance in implementing the various instruments African countries have ratified(CEDAW, BPFA, ACHPR, etc.)

11. Engendering the P&R on Population and Housing Censuses • Importance of PHCs: • Primary source of information about the number and characteristics of a given population • Completeness of coverage and the details they provide about the population in local areas provide a need that no other data source can meet • Provide the sampling frame for many other statistical infrastructures (surveys) • The sole source of information on population and housing characteristics for some countries • A potential source for gender-based information at the lowest level possible

12. Engendering the P&R on Population and Housing Censuses(Cont’d) • Review and recommendations on how to take into account gender perspectives in census undertaking in the framework of the 2010 RPHC • Built on: • On-going work on the AGDI and its sectoral components • Tools on gender statistics and time use developed by the UNSD and the UNECA • On-going work on the African Supplement to the P&R on PHC undertaken by the UNECA

13. Engendering the P&R on Population and Housing Censuses(Cont’d) • Review various stages of PHCs with a view to engender them • Planning and design: • selection of topics, coverage, and frame shall reflect gender relations an opportunities • Methodology: • concepts, definitions, questionnaire, coding shall reflect gender diversities in the society • Data collection, capture and treatment: • respondents, imputation, quality checks • Data analysis, presentation, and dissemination: • tabulations, outputs

14. The Way Forward • Extend the AGDI to more African countries • Advocating for the creation of gender statistics units in NSOs • Putting in place a regional gender statistics programme • Considering the creation of an African gender statistics City Group under the umbrella of the Statistical Commission for Africa

15. Conclusions • Mainstreaming gender within NSS is of paramount importance • NSOs need to be provided with adequate resources to coordinate and generate relevant Gender sensitive data and make them accessible to the public at large • Reinforcing the capacity for the production and use of gender responsive data is crucial in the formulation of comprehensive gender sensitive policies that benefit the entire society

16. Thank you! African Centre for Statistics Visit us at http:www.uneca.org/statistics/