Subregional Training on Gender Statistics for Monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Background and rationale 

Within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), gender equality is not only a standalone goal but also one of the crosscutting universal values that underpins the SDGs, and a necessary precondition for achieving the goals of the 2030 development agenda. Good quality, timely, comparable, and disaggregated gender data provide the evidence needed to measure progress towards achieving the gender-related SDG goals and targets. The 2022 Sustainable Development Goals Progress Report produced by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) shows that while there has been notable improvements in overall data availability in Asia and the Pacific since the first benchmark report in 2017, there are still significant data gaps.  Notably, at the subregional level, the report highlights a lack of sufficient data for Goal 5 (Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls) and thus presents an incomplete picture of anticipated progress towards this goal for the Pacific. Strengthening capacities to produce and use gender statistics is central to closing the gender data gap.