Gender indicators and statistics are of critical importance to inform decisions, guide efforts (both of governmental and non-governmental agencies), determine progress based on an established baseline, and monitor whether objectives are met within established timeframes.

Therefore, gender statistics are fundamental for monitoring international agreements related to women’s rights and gender equality, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Photograph of: ©UN Women/Staton Winter

Gender equality and human rights for all women and girls are at the core of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the associated SDGs. In fact, SDG 5 commits to “achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls” and therefore exclusively addresses gender equality and gender specific targets that are mainstreamed into other SDGs through targets and gender-specific indicators. With 17 goals, 169 targets and 232 indicators (of which 54 are gender-specific), the SDGs represent a historic global commitment to achieve gender equality by 2030. Gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls is not only an explicit goal but also a driver of sustainable development in all its dimensions, from ending poverty and hunger, promoting prosperity and inclusive growth and building peaceful, just and inclusive 

societies to securing the protection of the planet and its natural resources.² Across the SDG Framework, pervasive gender data gaps exist, severely limiting the global community’s ability to monitor progress on gender equality. Only 26 percent of the gender-specific SDG indicators can be reliably monitored globally. In addition, we are faced with the challenge to ensuring that no one is left behind, meaning that everyone needs to be counted and everyone’s well-being and priorities count, particularly for those who are most marginalized. Many challenges remain for monitoring the gender components of the SDGs. As it has been documented, gender statistics are rarely prioritized in data collection and the resources devoted to them, both at the national and international level, remain significantly inadequate.

Implementing and monitoring the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs requires a robust, gender-responsive follow-up and accountability framework designed to effectively measure and document inequalities between women and men as well as address intersectional inequalities to ensure that no one is left behind.

Photograph of: ©UN Women/Staton Winter

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