July 2014: The UN World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) has launched a project to develop the first-ever collection of gender-disaggregated water data. According to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the project is expected to provide support for monitoring the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the post-2015 development agenda Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and will build capacity for national data-gathering on gender-disaggregated data.

UN agencies, governments, NGOs and water experts have all called for the development of gender-disaggregated data, according to UNESCO. A survey by the UN Statistical Commission found that gender-disaggregated water data is among the least available gender-disaggregated data, with only 55% of countries producing gender statistics related to water. In comparison, 81% of countries produce gender-disaggregated statistics on education and 71% produce gender-disaggregated poverty data.

The WWAP project aims to respond to the need for gender-disaggregated water data by producing baseline gender-disaggregated water data, which will then be used to evaluate gender progress. It will work to develop a priority set of gender-sensitive indicators and a gender-disaggregated data methodology on topics such as women’s participation in water-related decision making and women’s water empowerment. Member States from different regions will then test the methodology.

The project will be carried out through four phases from January 2014 through at least July 2016. From January 2014 to January 2015, the project will work to produce a toolkit on gender-sensitive water monitoring assessment and reporting, including four to five water indicators for which gender-disaggregated data is especially needed and methodologies for collecting and assessing this data. The second phase, which will run from February 2015 to February 2026, will involve pilot projects in the field to test the toolkit and methodology. The third phase will focus on validation of results and dissemination while the fourth phase will involve a series of training modules to develop capacity on collecting, monitoring and reporting on gender-sensitive water data. [UNESCO Press Release] [Project Overview] [UN Statistical Commission Survey]