XXV International Meeting on Gender Statistics strengthens alliances to promote equality policies based on evidence

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• The opening ceremony highlighted the use of statistical information and innovation to strengthen the gender perspective in the design and implementation of public policies.

The XXV International Meeting on Gender Statistics (EIEG) began in Aguascalientes, Mexico, with the motto “25 years of alliances to strengthen equality policies based on evidence”. This event brings together more than 170 people, in person, and more than 300, virtually, from 18 countries. They represent the public, academic and international organizations sectors. The organization is in charge of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) of Mexico, the National Institute of Women (Inmujeres), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).

In its 25 years of existence, the EIEG, which is held annually at the INEGI headquarters in Aguascalientes, has become one of the main forums for reflection, analysis and debate on the use and production of statistics with a gender perspective.

During the inauguration, the heads of the host institutions, Graciela Márquez Colín, President of INEGI; Nadine Gasman, President of Inmujeres; Ana Güezmes, Director of the Gender Affairs Division of ECLAC, and María-Noel Vaeza, Regional Director of UN Women for the Americas and the Caribbean, highlighted why these meetings should be held. The inauguration also included the participation of María Teresa Jiménez, Governor of Aguascalientes.

Graciela Márquez stressed that this Meeting is an institution with roots, but at the same time with a lot of potential and future. She also pointed out that in 25 years many women in the region have held positions of authority and decision-making, but we know that there could be more; that the number of specialists and analysts has increased, but we know that there will be more; and that the capacity to generate information that benefits women has developed enormously, but we know that we will need more.

For her part, Nadine Gasman recalled that in the region we have many achievements to celebrate in these 25 years, as it is a historic moment, in view of the XVI Regional Conference on Women. “Statistics are a way of seeing, of giving voice to the demands of the feminist movement and they put on the table these issues that are invisible, that were not seen and that the way to make them noticeable is to put them in numbers. This is so important to change the conceptual frameworks and to achieve that we have public policies that respond to the needs of women,” she said.

Likewise, Ana Güezmes, Director of the Gender Affairs Division of ECLAC, noted that “in these 25 years, the EIEG has been essential in making gender inequalities visible and breaking the statistical silence. At the beginning, only 6 countries measured time use; today, 23 countries have official measurements, 18 report the SDG indicator on unpaid care work, and 5 have incorporated satellite accounts of the care economy. These achievements have been fundamental to advancing agreements and standards at the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean and at the Statistical Conference of the Americas. We have the joint task of transforming data into information, information into knowledge, and knowledge into political decisions for a sustainable future.”

María-Noel Vaeza, UN Women Regional Director for the Americas and the Caribbean, commented that “at UN Women we reiterate our commitment to generating data and analysis that make visible the current reality of women and men, monitor progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and provide solid evidence to those who make public policy decisions.”

Since 1999, the International Meetings on Gender Statistics in Mexico have been a point of reference in the region, promoting the exchange of experiences and discussion on the methodological challenges for the inclusion of the gender perspective in statistical production. These meetings have addressed crucial issues such as gender violence, poverty, gender inequality, unpaid work and care, and women’s autonomy.

In 2007, the EIEG was institutionalized and recognized by the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, which strengthened its impact on regional policies. Over these 25 years, the Meeting has been a pillar in the construction of strategic alliances: it has ensured that statistical information is not only relevant, but also a powerful resource for the development of public policies that promote gender equality in the region.

In its 25th edition, the EIEG not only celebrates its legacy, but reaffirms its commitment to the future. In this way, it joins the construction of the care society based on solid statistics and clear evidence. By recognizing the central role of care in the sustainability of life and the planet, this meeting underlines the need to continue advancing towards sustainable gender equality, based on the production and use of statistics that reflect the reality of women. In this way, the adoption of transformative policies that not only make inequalities visible, but also drive structural changes is promoted. This will make gender equality a tangible reality throughout the region, as it will integrate the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.

Until September 4, the discussions will focus on statistical production on care needs, methodological advances in time-use surveys as a fundamental tool to demonstrate the integral contribution of women to economies, measurements of women’s economic autonomy, advances and challenges in measuring gender-based violence, the use of big data from a gender perspective, among others.

Participants will also discuss the gender perspective and innovation for the generation of indicators for monitoring the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Regional Gender Agenda.

In the framework of the 25th anniversary of the EIEG, and as part of the efforts to make statistical information more accessible to the public, the “Gender and Work” Editathon will be implemented for the first time. In this project, in which Wikimedia Mexico and the Autonomous University of Aguascalientes collaborate, students and faculty will edit nearly 30 Wikipedia articles to add data on women’s participation in the formal market, housework, care activities, among other related topics.

The organizing institutions invite all people to join the open dialogue on the generation of statistical information that supports public policies to advance towards gender equality.

Recordings of the activities can be viewed on the Meeting’s microsite: https://www.inegi.org.mx/eventos/2024/genero/ and in the channel of YouTube INEGI reports. Discussion topics include: The care society, time use surveys, integration and strengthening of care systems, women’s economic autonomy, response to gender violence, innovation in gender statistics and monitoring progress towards gender equality through SDG indicators.