NEW GENDER STATISTICS PROGRAMME TO INCREASE THE AVAILABILITY, ACCESSIBILITY AND USE OF QUALITY DATA ON WOMEN IN JORDAN
Date:
Amman, Jordan. Under a new partnership between the Department of Statistics and UN Women, the first validation workshop for the new Making Every Woman and Girl Count programme was held on 15 October 2019. Attended by 70 participants – including data producers and users from various line ministries, civil society organizations, academics, researchers and gender specialists – the workshop aimed to validate the findings of an initial assessment of the state of gender statistics in Jordan, which identified existing gaps and invited participants to work on addressing them by designing strategies and strengthening existing mechanisms.
'Statistics and data are essential for the preparation of national plans and policies, for analyzing economic, social and political phenomena, implementing programs and monitoring progress,'said Director General of the Department of Statistics, H.E. Qasim Al-Zoubi, in his opening remarks. 'The Department of Statistics seeks to provide gender statistics, which can promote greater equality and to monitor progress against Jordan’s international commitments.'
Jordan is one of the 12 pathfinder countries selected for the global UN Women’s Global Flagship Programme, which aims to improve the production and use of gender statistics to monitor the implementation of gender equality commitments under the 2030 Agenda. Within this framework, UN Women will work in partnership with the Department of Statistics and other governmental bodies, civil society organizations, the UN system in Jordan, and other key partners to improve the development of gender-sensitive indicators, as well as gender data collection, production, analysis and dissemination.
‘The availability of disaggregated and gender-sensitive statistics and data is critical to assess gender gaps as well as to identify inequalities between different social groups in terms of development gains. The accuracy and quality of data is also fundamental to inform evidence-based programming and identify resources needed to shape national policies and plans. It has never been more important to ensure that half of the population is adequately represented through national statistics and that their contribution is taken into account to achieve inclusive development for all.’ affirmed Nuha Zaidah, on behalf of the Jordanian National Commission for Women, in her opening remarks.
In alignment with national commitments and plans to localize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the programme focuses on three pillars: 1) building a supportive policy and institutional environment to improve monitoring of national and international commitments on the SDGs; 2) filling gender data gaps by ensuring that quality and comparable gender statistics are produced regularly; and 3) ensuring that gender statistics are widely accessible and used to inform policymaking and advocacy.
‘Gender statistics are needed to understand, measure and monitor the realities of the lives of women and men, girls and boys in Jordan. The Department of Statics and UN Women will work on strengthening capacities and investments for production, research and dissemination of gender statistics and data, while enhancing coordination between government institutions and data users to inform policy development affirmed Mr. Ziad Sheikh, Representative, UN Women Jordan Country Office.
The workshop provided a platform to promote dialogue and partnerships among practitioners, and to build consensus around the collection, production and use of gender statistics in Jordan. Recommendations made by participants will feed into a joint plan, prioritizing actions across the three pillars of the programme.
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