Promoting Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women

1. Using available statistics to monitor progress towards gender equality: The Global Monitoring Report 2007 Promoting Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women IAEG Meeting on the Development of Gender Statistics December 13, 2006

2. Outline • The Global Monitoring Report • Preliminary Messages and evidence for the chapter in Gender

3. The Global Monitoring Report • Focuses on how the world is doing in implementing the policies and actions for achieving the MDGs and related development outcomes • Intended for the Development Committee • The main theme changes every year. Last year report was on Aid, Trade and Governance • This year report will focus on Gender and Fragile States. • The central chapter on Gender has four sections

4. Chapter Structure: Four Sections • Gender equality is central to development • Monitoring performance toward MDG3 using official UN indicators • Going beyond UN MDG3 indicators: Additional dimensions for monitoring gender equality • What will it take to achieve MDG3 by 2015?

5. Performance On Official MDG3 Indicators • Good performance on gender parity on basic education and literacy • Most countries on track to meet gender parity target on basic education and literacy • Exceptions are 28 countries (most in Africa) • Poor performance on goal related to tertiary education • Increase in indicators for employment and political participation, but share remains low • Introduction of quotas influences performance on political participation • Experience of fragile states

6. Data challenges on the current MDG3 Indicators • The number of countries with available data changes every year making yearly estimations very difficult. • Trends in ratios are difficult to interpret. • Within country variation is hidden on national averages.

7. Focus on Outliers

8. Track performance

9. Beyond Ratios and National Averages

10. Additional Indicators for Monitoring Gender Equality • Task Force recommendations • Framework for recommending additional indicators • Measurable with available data • Instrumental for reducing poverty, stimulating growth and attaining other MDGs • Can be influenced by policy • Choosing a parsimonious set of indicators

11. Task Force Recommendations Red indicates indicator is measurable with available data, bold font indicates limited availability

12. Recommended Indicators Red indicates indicator is measurable with available data

13. Additional Indicators for Monitoring Gender Equality • Recommended indicators improve monitoring of attaining MDG3 • Some countries that have done well on official indicators tend to perform poorly on the expanded set of indicators

14. Education • Monitor gender parity in access, quality and persistence throughout the education system • Completion rates for primary education • Female completion rates lower than for males in 50 percent or more countries in AFR, MNA, SAR and ECA • Test scores on regional or international assessments to measure quality of education • Relative to boys, girls perform poorly in math and science but better in reading • Average completed years of schooling to measure educational attainment

15. Additional Indicators for Health *per 1000 population, ratios in red indicate female disadvantage

16. Labor Force Participation Rates by Age

17. Labor Force Participation Rates by Sex Equality Female rate is half of male rate

18. What will it take to achieve MDG3 by 2015? • Analyzing “outlier countries” using performance on official and expanded list of indicators • Correlating performance on MDG3 with their performance in achieving the other MDG goals • Understanding the what is needed in terms of institutional environment and policies • Outlier countries • Other country case studies