How should we measure gender equality?

How should we measure gender equality – are there typical indicators whether qualitative or quantitative that you think should be in every assessment of an initiative or project? How do you then account for the ability to collect this sort of data, especially when there is little ability/statistics available in the countries we’re working?

This is a really good question. There are a range of gender-sensitive indicators that can be used to assess different aspects of gender equality. These indicators include: participation (for example around group formation), gender dimensions of poverty, empowerment, gender-based violence, gender mainstreaming within organisations, even up to global level measurements which include the Millennium Development Goals and UNDP’s Gender Empowerment Measure.

The information you choose to collect depends on what aspects of gender equality you wish to measure. For example, if you want to assess participation of women in a community, you could look at participation by women and men and also develop indicators around the quality of that participation, such as the existence of a set of (group) rules that were developed in a participatory fashion, the extent to which men and women have decision making power (at household and community level), stakeholder perceptions of levels of participation of different groups, and the degree of solidarity and mutual support among the group.

A combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies provide a more complete picture of change. It is useful to study hard figures alongside information around social and power relations and the quality of gender equality (all of which can be difficult to measure). Approaches where members of a community analyse and evaluate their own situations can promote ownership by those involved.

As you can see, there are many indicators around to choose from. The problem is not so much a lack of quality indicators but a need to harmonise gender indicators to aid aggregation at national, regional and global levels. Have a look at BRIDGE’s Gender and Indicators Overview Report (http://www.bridge.ids.ac.uk/reports/IndicatorsORfinal.pdf), July 2007, for a list of possible indicators.