Inclusive data and evidence on the situations of women, men, girls, and boys is the cornerstone of gender-sensitive policy making. Interest in improving the quality and quantity of gender data has grown in recent years, with an increasing number of development partners mobilising resources for gender statistics. However, data production is just the first step towards evidence-informed action for gender equality. To have a meaningful impact on the lives of women, men, girls and boys, gender data must also be used.
Until recently, few questions had been asked about how gender data actually reaches and influences policy makers in practice, leaving little space to scale enablers and address barriers to use across policy-making processes. Existing models of data uptake and use provide an important foundation for understanding the different stages of the journey from production to use of data, from a global perspective. But conceptual models by nature oversimplify, isolate, and generalise data use.
