Indicators

Close up of rulers. By Frederic, under a CC License

How can we measure gender inequality? What does change look like and how do we know it’s in the right direction?  Gender-sensitive indicators and other measurements of change are critical - for building the case for taking gender (in)equality seriously, for enabling better planning and actions, and for holding institutions accountable for their commitments on gender. While the refinement of existing indices and indicators remains critical, gender-sensitive measurements alone do not achieve gender equality. In order to be useful, data must be collected, analysed, disseminated and then used. 

Find out more: 

Jagori

Jagori means ‘awaken, women!’ The organisation aims to reach out to women in increasingly innovative ways and to enable marginalised and oppressed women with awareness and action for rights. It conducts training, documentation, grassroots action research, advocacy and campaigning, working in a range of partnerships.

www.jagori.org

Womenwatch

Womenwatch is the central gateway to information and resources on the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women throughout the United Nations system. The portal contains a directory of resources on selected topics, including statistics and indicators.

www.un.org/womenwatch

Anacaonas

The Spanish language Anacaonas website has a section dedicated to Gender and Indicators. The resources show that inequality based on gender is still a major obstacle to human development and that the measuring the disadvantages faced by women can generate awareness around these problems, influence policy and help monitor progress, as well as encourage governments to assume their responsibilities. 

www.anacaonas.net/indicadores 

Observ'action

Oberv'action has a collection of news, research and other resources on Gender and Indicators in the French language. It offers reflections around issues of measurement and gender-sensitive evaluation.

www.observaction.org/category/genre-et-indicateurs

Our Cutting Edge Pack

Gender and Indicators (English)

What does a world without gender inequality look like? Realising this vision requires inspiring and mobilising social change. But what would indicate we are on the right track - and how will we know when we get there?

Kit Actu’ « Genre et Indicateurs » (Francais)

A quoi ressemblerait un monde sans inégalités de genre ? La réalisation de cet objectif demande une transformation sociale qui puisse mobiliser. Mais comment savoir si nous sommes sur la bonne voie – et si nous avons atteint notre but ?

Canasta básica sobre género e indicadores (Español)

¿Cómo sería un mundo sin desigualdad de género? Hacer realidad esta visión requiere un cambio social inspirador y movilizador. Pero ¿qué nos indicaría que vamos en la dirección correcta—y cómo sabremos que hemos llegado a nuestro destino?

Gender goals, targets and indicators for sustainable development: problems and opportunities

This policy brief, produced by the Interdisciplinary Centre for Gender Studies, applies a critical look at the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) from a gender perspective to highlight why gender equality needs to be a crucial part of the new post-2015 framework.

United Nations Global Gender Statistics Programme: minimum set of gender indicators

This minimum set of gender indicators from the United Nations are composed of 52 quantitative indicators, and 11 qualitative indicators covering national norms and laws on gender equality.

Measuring women’s empowerment and social transformation in the post-2015 agenda

This paper, published by the Overseas Development Institute, explores the use of social norms as a lens to track a women’s pathway to empowerment, and presents a detailed list of proposed indicators and themes capable of measuring this empowerment.

More reading in our resources database

Gender Updates

BRIDGE Gender Update: The Sustainable Development Goals, Gender and Indicators
October 2015 : #112
A new set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was formally adopted in a UN summit on 25-27 September 2015 following a two year process of global consultations and intergovernmental negotiations.

News

Ganga Adhikari from Bindabasini, a remote mountain village in Nepal. Ganga and many other women have mobilised themselves for fight for women’s rights in Nepal. By Peter Caton/VSO
13 Aug 15

Beyond women in parliaments: Getting indicators right in the SDGs

Maria Vlahakis from VSO and Abigail Hunt from Womankind Worldwide argue that measuring women’s participation and leadership needs to take into account all levels of decision-making, not just the national government.
By UNMIL / Christopher Herwig
18 Jun 15

Gender and indicators: can equality be measured?

With the Sustainable Development Goals to be finalised at the end of 2015, a new guide from BRIDGE provides an overview of some debates and approaches to measuring change.