Policy Brief - Gender-Based Data and Policy Action

A gender gap has accompanied the growing access to the internet and global technologies worldwide. This gap is explained by the unequal access, use and impact of technologies on women and men produced by a recognised structural gender imbalance, which reflects, among other effects, the absence of sex-disaggregated data. This may become a self-perpetuating cycle if women cannot see their perspectives, priorities, and needs reflected in data and digital processes. This issue is a growing concern for Local and Regional Governments - LRGs, metropolitan authorities, National Governments, International Organizations, NGOs, and Civil Society Groups. Their commitment to this topic has permeated global agendas such as the New Urban Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals or the creation of Local Government.

Mainstreaming gender perspectives and including sex-disaggregated data in public policies formulation help improve their efficiency. However, many LRGs have manifested that they failed to do it because they do not have the capacity or culture to collect sex-disaggregated data that reflects the reality of women in their territories. This reveals a more pressing challenge regarding closing the gender digital gap, the limits to information, and the consequences of its interpretation. Then,
decisive efforts towards unbiased data collection and processing must be made to serve as input for better local policy design.