March 2018: A methodology for auditing gender equality has been developed by the Canadian Audit and Accountability Foundation in partnership with Women Deliver and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). A guide to using the methodology will be launched on the sidelines of the 62nd session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 62).

The resource titled, ‘Practice Guide to Auditing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Gender Equality,’ presents a methodology for auditing gender equality, both as the core of SDG 5 and also an enabler and accelerator for progress on all 17 SDGs. The UN has recognized the role that supreme audit institutions (SAIs) play in auditing the implementation of the SDGs, and the Guide seeks to assist performance auditors in conducting audits as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The Guide is divided into two parts: concepts and context, and audit methodology. The first part reviews international commitments related to gender equality, the importance of gender equality for sustainable development, the 2030 Agenda and gender equality, and the role of SAIs in auditing gender equality. The second part includes questions that can be asked to obtain useful knowledge, indicators that gender equality may be at risk, information on possible audit approaches, and sources of suitable audit criteria.

The audit methodology provides for situations in which gender equality is the main focus of an audit, as well as for situations in which the primary focus is another SDG issue area. The Guide includes an example of auditing SDG 4 (quality education) and gender equality.

The official launch of the Guide will take place on 14 March 2018, in New York, US. CSW 62 convenes from 12-23 March. [Publication: Practice Guide to Auditing the UN SDGs: Gender Equality] [Information on launch event] [SDG Knowledge Hub story on role of SAIs in auditing SDGs] [CSW 62 Webpage]