Management Response

: Independent Evaluation Service (IES)
: 2022 - 2023 , Independent Evaluation Service (IES) (EO)
: Corporate Evaluation of UN Women's support to gender statistics (2018-2022)
:
: Independent Evaluation Service (IES)
:

UN Women agrees with the evaluation recommendations and will make use of the findings and recommendations, including in the context of the Mid Term Review of the 2022-2025 Strategic Plan. UN Women echoes the findings of the evaluation that the Entity has made significant strides in gender statistics over the last several years. However, important gaps remain, and the Entity has yet to fully realize its potential in this area. The Gender Equality Accelerator 10 – Women Count – which builds on the successful namesake program provides a unique opportunity to scale-up UN Women’s work in this area. Through a mix of short-, medium- and long-term actions suggested by the evaluation, UN Women will leverage its triple mandate to support Member States to produce and use gender statistics and to enhance coordination and collaboration with key regional and global actors, while continuing to build its own capacity in key areas, including for instance in humanitarian action and conflict settings and gender and environment. UN Women will continue to leverage the vast technical resources generated through the Women Count program, including the variety of technical guidance, Gender Statistics Training materials, and other resources available on the Women Count Data Hub. The R&D Section will also initiate an internal UN Women monthly seminar dedicated to specific gender data topics, to build staff capacities and promote knowledge exchange, including with experts outside of UN Women. However, it should also be noted that some of the recommendations contained in the report are not resource neutral and UN Women’s ability to fully implement them depends on the availability of resources. Addressing these challenges in a sustainable way will require both short- and longer-term efforts, including reviewing and reprioritizing core resource allocation for critical staff positions and concerted non-core resource mobilization at national, regional and global levels. Requiring integration of gender statistics objectives more systematically in all Strategic Notes and project documents will be key. In addition, in line with the current Strategic Plan, gender statistics needs to be an integral part of the next strategic plan (2026-2030).

: Submitted
Recommendation: UN Women should build into the results of Women Count and use the UN Women Gender Equality Accelerator 10 – Women Count as the organizational roadmap to guide global, regional and country efforts in supporting the enabling environments, production and use of gender statistics.
Management Response: UN Women acknowledges the importance of the recommendation and is committed to continue leveraging on the Women Count program's learning and results to strengthen the UN Women Gender Equality Accelerator 10 – Women Count. This initiative will serve as a pivotal organizational roadmap to guide our efforts in supporting the production and utilization of gender statistics at global, regional, and country levels. UN Women’s Gender Equality Accelerator 10 is already designed with learning from Women Count.
More detail
Description: The evaluation demonstrated that Women Count has been an effective global programme for advancing work in gender statistics. Drawing from the Women Count global programme, the UN Women Gender Equality Accelerator 10 – Women Count, provides the vision needed to scale up gender statistics work to all UN Women supported countries. Associated guidance developed as part of the Gender Equality Accelerator 10 – Women Count should be used to provide practical steps that Business Units at headquarters, regional and country levels can follow to implement the gender statistics agenda. At global level, the Gender Equality Accelerator 10 – Women Count clearly articulates all work and approaches related to gender statistics conducted at headquarters, linked to the Strategic Plan’s systemic outcome on the production, analysis and use of gender statistics. The Gender Equality Accelerator 10 – Women Count should clearly consider UN Women’s placement within the larger system of work in statistics and reflect consideration of partner coordination and cohesion and should address all contexts within which UN Women operates, including development and humanitarian settings and include clear guides for countries with varying levels of capacities and resources. The supporting guidance should also include products related to quality assurance mechanisms as well as programmatic guidance. The goal of utilizing the Gender Equality Accelerator 10 – Women Count and associated guidance should be to provide a common vision that encapsulates and guides all UN Women’s efforts related to gender statistics at headquarters, regional and country levels, both within and beyond Women Count efforts.
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018), Governance and planning (SPs before 2018), Ending violence against women (SPs before 2018), Global norms and standards (SPs before 2018), Leadership and participation in governance systems (SP 2018-2021)
Operating Principles: Oversight/governance, Knowledge management, Internal coordination and communication
Organizational Priorities: Organizational efficiency
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness, Relevance
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1.1 Conduct socialization sessions on the Gender Equality Accelerator 10 – Women Count, to guide all business units (headquarters and regional and country level) on how to advance and/or scale up gender statistics work across all UN Women and map current needs and capacities. R&D Section and ROs statistics specialists 2025/12 Ongoing
1.2 Develop a gender statistics strategy specifically tailored for conflict or crisis and humanitarian settings and include clear guides for countries with varying levels of capacities and resources. Peace and Security and Humanitarian Section, with support from R&D 2025/12 Not Initiated
1.2 Develop a gender statistics strategy specifically tailored for conflict or crisis and humanitarian settings and include clear guides for countries with varying levels of capacities and resources. Peace and Security and Humanitarian Section, with support from R&D 2025/12 Not Initiated
1.3 Ensure inclusion of gender data objectives in all GEAs and in UN Women strategic planning processes, including GEA10’s indicators as a criteria in the SN/B/AWP checklists (see also Key Action 4.3). PPID Policy Sections/PPID Directorate/ PAPDU 2025/12 Ongoing
1.4 Ensure integration of GEA-10 in the development of the UN Women SP 2026-2030 R&D Section 2025/12 Not Initiated
Recommendation: UN Women should strengthen its coordination and convening support role to national governments, in line with national ownership, to consolidate its strategic position in the gender statistics landscape, particularly at country level.
Management Response: UN Women acknowledges the critical importance of this recommendation and commits to reinforcing its support and coordination role with national governments to advance gender statistics. Strengthening coordination and our strategic position in the gender statistics landscape aligns with our mandate and strategic plan. By enhancing our coordination and convening role, we can ensure that efforts to advance gender statistics are aligned with national gender priorities while leveraging the strengths of others, particularly in the UN System. This approach also aligns with our current practices in the Women Count programme. UN Women has established interagency coordination mechanism, co-led by the respective national government, to govern the production and use of multi-level disaggregated gender statistics. Through the Women Count programme, deliberate efforts were made to develop and nurture strategic partnerships and collaboration with stakeholders, such as the National Statists Offices (NSOs), relevant national government Ministries, Departments, Ministries and Agencies (MDAs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), and the academia, to leverage resources, expertise, and knowledge to enhance the quality and impact of gender statistics work. Initiatives to enhance and broaden regional engagements are also ongoing. For example, in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA), we are deepening partnerships with UNECA, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and subregional actors, resulting in greater coordination of gender statistics across Africa. Together with the UNECA and AfDB, UN Women supported the development and launch of the Africa Programme on Gender Statistics Phase III five-year Strategic Plan which aims to guide gender statistics work and coordination across the continent, avoid duplication of efforts and ensure that the scarce resources allocated are used efficiently. In the Asia and the Pacific, UN Women is engaging regional bodies such as the Association of Southeast Asian States (ASEAN) and the SPC to implement the Pacific Roadmap on Gender Statistics including tracking progress towards gender equality and SDG 5 in the region. At the global level, UN Women participates actively in interagency coordination mechanisms, including the Committee of UN Chief Statisticians (CCS-UN), the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA), the Interagency and Expert Groups (IAEG) on Gender Statistics and SDGs, the Inter-Secretariat Working Group on Household Surveys and others and continues to enhance the integration of gender into these mechanisms and in global statistical methodologies and standards. The Entity recently spearheaded the Collaborative on Citizen Generated Data, which is a global initiative to increase the participation on citizens in the entire data value chain, helping to increase data production and data use while promoting inclusivity, participation, and trust.
More detail
Description: UN Women should strengthen its support to national governments, in line with national ownership and at member states’ request, to coordinate and convene with other relevant actors to clarify and agree on respective roles to advance gender statistics work across all thematic areas (e.g. EVAW, leadership and political participation, economic empowerment, gender and climate change). This will contribute to increased coordination of gender statistics activities at country level are coordinated and coherent to support national gender priorities.
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Governance and planning (SPs before 2018), Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018), Peace and security (SPs before 2018), Global norms and standards (SPs before 2018), Ending violence against women (SPs before 2018), Leadership and participation in governance systems (SP 2018-2021)
Operating Principles: Oversight/governance, Capacity development, National ownership, Evidence, Data and statistics
Organizational Priorities: Organizational efficiency, Normative Support, Operational activities, UN Coordination
UNEG Criteria: Impact, Sustainability, Effectiveness
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
2.1 Each UN Women Country Office to spearhead/join gender data technical groups at UNCT level, as part of their UN coordination role. Country offices, with support from regional offices 2025/12 Not Initiated This action should be an integral part of UN Women’s offer on UN country level coordination. However, the possibility of implementing it will depend on each country office’s technical capacity. Regional offices, depending on resources available (including country offices’ own resources) may provide technical support.
2.2 UN Women to enhance its engagement in regional dialogue and coordination through partnerships with United Nations regional commissions, regional development banks, UN agencies, and other regional institutions. The collaboration extends to regional networks of civil society organizations, gender machineries, academia, statistical training institutions, and the private sector, to advance gender statistics and promote the use of gender data. Regional Offices 2025/12 Ongoing
2.3 Strengthen advocacy and collaboration with global partners, including the Interagency and Expert Groups on SDG Indicators, Gender Statistics and UN Data, UNSD, Inter-Secretariat Working group on Household Surveys (ISWGHS), to accelerate SDG monitoring R&D section 2025/12 Ongoing
Recommendation: UN Women should strengthen emerging areas of work in gender statistics to consolidate its strategic positioning.
Management Response: UN Women accepts the recommendation and recognizes the importance of diversifying and deepening its work in gender statistics to maintain and enhance its strategic position in the field. Strengthening our efforts in emerging and critical areas such as gender and climate change, humanitarian action, intersectionality, and artificial intelligence is essential for addressing the multifaceted challenges of gender inequality. UN Women has advanced critical work on gender and climate data work, which culminated in the ‘Global Conference on Gender and Environment Data’ at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28). A Global Call to Action was issued at the end of the Conference, that calls on world leaders, policymakers and key actors in the data system to produce and use gender-environment data to drive progress on gender-responsive climate and environment commitments. Building on the Counted and Visible Toolkit to Better Utilize Existing Data from Household Surveys to Generate Disaggregated Gender Statistics, UN Women improved its focus on analysing gender disaggregated statistics with an intersectionality approach to provide a credible evidence base that can inform gender-responsive policies. In the East and Southern Africa, UN Women supported the development and testing of a disability module, from intersectionality perspective, in the mental health questionnaire survey in collaboration with the Washington Group. If successful, the module will be rolled out to collect disability data as a module in existing surveys.
More detail
Description: UN Women should strengthen identified areas of work in gender statistics such as gender and climate change, humanitarian action, intersectionality, and artificial intelligence to reinforce and strengthen its competitive advantage and further consolidate its strategic positioning in the space. UN Women should investigate the feasibility of leading on intersectionality, inclusivity and equity in gender statistics. Areas of focus should be agreed in consultation with Thematic Units and within the framework of the Gender Equality Accelerator 10 – Women Count and UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2022-2025.
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018), Governance and planning (SPs before 2018), Ending violence against women (SPs before 2018), Global norms and standards (SPs before 2018), Peace and security (SPs before 2018), Leadership and participation in governance systems (SP 2018-2021)
Operating Principles: Alignment with strategy, Knowledge management, Evidence, Data and statistics
Organizational Priorities: Partnership, Operational activities
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness, Impact
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
3.1 Develop / disseminate GEA 10 guidance documents including programme guidance notes, gender statistics manuals, and other technical resources on gender statistics in every thematic area. R&D Section 2025/12 Ongoing The guidance documents are already developed and will be disseminated widely across thematic areas.
3.2 Adapt existing training material developed through Women Count to address emerging areas, including for example the Gender Statistics Training Curriculum to build UN Women staff's capacity on gender statistics. R&D Section and UN Women Training Center 2026/12 Not Initiated
Recommendation: UN Women should strengthen its internal human and technical capacities, and strive to further diversify its funding sources to advance gender statistics work.
Management Response: UN Women agrees with the recommendation. UN Women appreciates the recommendation on strengthening internal capacities to advance gender statistics work. Through the Women Count programme Phase II, UN Women continues to invest in capacity development initiatives to strengthen gender statistics capacities at regional and national levels. For example, regional offices have been reconfigured and strengthened with both technical and financial capacity, with expanded roles as a key influencer of change in the implementation of country projects. Two new regional projects (Latin America and The Caribbean and Arab States) have been added to the existing four that were set up in phase I, to respond to the increased demand for country level support, with increased emphasis on technical guidance and statistical quality assurance. As a result, subject to the availability of resources, at least 74 countries that have expressed a request to UN Women for technical and/or financial support are being supported, significantly expanding Women count’s reach in Phase II compared to Phase I. Women Count is integrated in the UN Women Strategic Plan 2022-2025 (Outcome 6 on gender data), and all the Strategic Plan outcome and output indicators adopted. This alignment strengthens the overall effectiveness and relevance of Women Count and helps UN Women fill in capacity gaps to advance gender statistics work.
More detail
Description: In order for UN Women to consolidate its position in gender statistics, it should strengthen both its financial and technical resources. UN Women should ensure that regional and country offices have the appropriate level of technical expertise and knowledge to commission gender statistics work and meet other objectives as detailed in the road map (see Recommendation 1). UN Women should also ensure that gender statistics specialists are strategically placed at both regional and country levels to support this area of work. UN Women should ensure sufficient financial resources through resource mobilization strategies to diversify sources of funding for gender statistics.
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Governance and planning (SPs before 2018), Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018), Peace and security (SPs before 2018), Global norms and standards (SPs before 2018), Ending violence against women (SPs before 2018), Leadership and participation in governance systems (SP 2018-2021)
Operating Principles: Oversight/governance, Capacity development, Internal coordination and communication
Organizational Priorities: Organizational efficiency, Operational activities, Normative Support, Partnership, UN Coordination
UNEG Criteria: Impact, Efficiency, Sustainability
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
4.1 In the context of SP 2026-2030 formulation, review institutional funding allocation for different policy areas to explore possibility of increased institutional funding allocation at HQ level for Gender Statistics/GEA 10. PPID (Director) 2025/12 Ongoing
4.2 Continue to engage development partners (non-traditional) to diversity non-core funding for UN Women’s gender statistics work. R&D Section (Chief), with SPD 2025/12 Ongoing
4.3 Integrate gender data objectives in Strategic Notes and project documents, and resource it adequately through core and non-core allocations. PPID Policy Chiefs/Regional Directors/Country Reps 2025/12 Ongoing
4.4 Organize (new) monthly gender data Webinars on particular topics of interest, to promote knowledge sharing across UN Women and with outside experts. R&D, ESA regional office and relevant thematic COPs 2025/12 Ongoing We will also promote existing gender data COPs for wider participation by UN Women colleagues (e.g. ESA RO gender statistics COP which meets monthly) and encourage data-related topics to be integrated in other non-data COPs.