Beyond the Spreadsheet: How Revolutionary Gender Data is Rewriting the Future for Women and Girls Worldwide
For decades, the global struggle for gender equality has often been fought in the dark, guided more by intuition and anecdotal evidence than by hard, empirical facts. When policymakers and world leaders sit at the negotiating table, they demand evidence to justify their budgets, yet gender-specific data has historically been the final priority for investment. This systemic “data gap” has rendered the specific needs of women and girls invisible, leaving them underserved in times of crisis and overlooked in times of prosperity. However, a massive shift is underway. Through a strategic investment of over USD 80 million since 2016, the UN Women “Women Count” program is proving that when you measure the lives of women, you gain the power to change them.
The philosophy behind this movement is simple but profound: what gets measured gets managed. By prioritizing the collection, analysis, and sharing of gender-disaggregated data, UN Women and its partners are fostering a global environment where decisions are no longer based on guesswork. From the radio waves of Zanzibar to the floodplains of Nairobi, this data-driven revolution is filling institutional voids and shaping the very laws that govern economic empowerment, humanitarian response, and environmental protection.
In the United Republic of Tanzania, the impact of this data is being felt in the most intimate corners of community life. For years, gender-based violence (GBV) remained a shadowed topic in Zanzibar, muffled by cultural norms and a lack of clear reporting pathways. That changed when Tumbatu FM, a local community station, began integrating monthly gender statistics into its broadcasts. Juma Haji Juma, a radio presenter at the station, notes that the weight of the news changed once it was backed by numbers. “When news is backed by data, it carries more weight—and encourages people to find the right solutions,” he explains.
This wasn’t just about reading numbers over the airwaves; it was about demystifying a crisis. By sharing statistics provided by UN Women and the Zanzibar Office of the Chief Government Statistician, presenters like Amina Mohamed at the youth-led Kati Radio have been able to challenge long-standing misconceptions. They host expert interviews and take calls from listeners, transforming the radio into a town hall for safety and accountability. The results are undeniable: the Zanzibar Police reported 1,809 cases of violence in 2024, representing a 28 percent increase compared to 2020. This spike isn’t a sign of rising violence, but a sign of rising courage. Women like Fatma Haji Silima, a regular listener, now feel they have the information and confidence to report abuse. These data points are now the backbone of Tanzania’s National Plan of Action to End Violence against Women and Children, leading to the creation of specialized police gender desks and one-stop centers where survivors can access health, legal, and counseling services in a single location.
The necessity of gender data becomes a matter of life and death when natural disasters strike. In April 2024, the banks of Nairobi’s Mathare River burst, sending a torrent of water through homes and lives. Isabella Nzioki, a Community Health Promoter in Kenya, was jolted awake by the screams of her neighbors. In the chaos of the aftermath, she didn’t just provide physical aid; she applied the gender-data skills she had acquired through a UN Women and GROOTS-Kenya training program just one month prior.
Nzioki meticulously recorded the details of 81 survivors, noting that 64 of them were women. This granular level of detail allowed the Kenya Red Cross to bypass the “one-size-fits-all” approach to disaster relief. Because they knew exactly how many pregnant and lactating women were among the displaced, they could precisely target food assistance, mobile clinics, and water treatment supplies. They ensured that hygiene kits and maternal health needs weren’t an afterthought. This “citizen gender data” bridged the gap between the survivors’ immediate needs and the humanitarian agencies’ resources, providing a lifeline that was both rapid and relevant.
While data can save lives in a crisis, it is also dismantling the invisible barriers of the domestic sphere. In Georgia, the findings of a national Time-Use Survey—the first of its kind in the region—exposed the staggering disparity in unpaid care work between men and women. The data revealed that while women were heavily burdened with domestic duties, men were almost entirely absent from the nursery and the kitchen. This evidence reached the boardrooms of the private sector, specifically TBC Bank, one of Georgia’s largest employers.
After reviewing the data, which showed that not a single male employee had taken paternity leave between 2021 and 2022, TBC Bank implemented mandatory gender equality training and began actively promoting its six-month fully paid parental leave policy for fathers. For 34-year-old Avtandil Tsereteli, this was a turning point. After his son Alexandre was born, Tsereteli chose to take the leave, allowing his wife to continue her career while he bonded with his child. “It was one of the most significant decisions I will ever make,” he says. This shift isn’t just happening in the private sector; the Georgia Civil Service Bureau has since developed legislative amendments to include non-transferable paternity leave for public sector employees, ensuring that the burden—and the joy—of caregiving is more equitably shared across society.
The reach of gender data extends even to the global fight against climate change. In the Pacific nation of Tonga, the 2022 Gender and Environment Survey (GES) provided a landmark look at how environmental degradation affects the sexes differently. The survey found that a staggering 93 percent of Tongans had experienced three or more disasters in a single year, but it was the gender-specific insights that spurred policy change. The data revealed that women were disproportionately impacted by the loss of biodiversity and faced greater challenges in securing food and water following a disaster.
UN Women’s support of the Tonga Statistics Department ensured that these findings didn’t just sit on a shelf. They were used to revise the Agriculture Sector Plan, influence the Ministry of Finance’s 2024 budget, and overhaul the National Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality Policy. Anna Jane Lagi, of Tonga’s Women’s Affairs and Gender Equality Division, highlights how this data allows for better coordination during emergencies. By understanding the specific needs of women before a cyclone hits, first responders can be trained to provide more effective, gender-responsive aid. When Tonga’s Minister of Finance presented these findings at COP28, it served as a global masterclass in how a small island nation can use data to build a more resilient and inclusive future.
The “Women Count” program, currently supported by the governments of Australia, France, Ireland, Italy, and Sweden, along with the Gates Foundation, is now preparing for its third phase of implementation in 2026. Since its inception, it has moved beyond merely “collecting” numbers; it has fostered a global culture where gender statistics are recognized as a fundamental pillar of good governance. The program has proven that data is not a dry, academic pursuit, but a radical tool for justice.
As UN Women marks 15 years of dedicated service to women’s rights and gender equality, the success of the “Women Count” program stands as a testament to what is possible when we invest in the truth. We are living in a moment where progress can either be sustained or allowed to slip away. The evidence is clear: when we have the data, we have the power to protect, the power to lead, and the power to transform. This is our moment to act, to stand with local women leaders, and to ensure that no woman or girl is ever left invisible again. We are experienced enough to deliver the solutions, and with the right data in hand, we are bold enough to transform the world.
