Gender statistics and its importance

Gender statistics crosses horizontally statistics traditional areas, with the aim to identify, produce, disseminate statistics that reflects the reality of women's and men's life and the impact of gender-focused policies (according to the definition of the UN Economic Commission for Europe/UNECE).

To make women and men “visible” in statistics, the data are disaggregated by sex. Such data allow understanding the role of women and men in the society, of the activities they perform, modalities in which women and men interact, existing differences in access to and use of resources, in potential and opportunities they have.

Gender statistics shows how the power and influence is distributed between women and men – through leadership or executive positions they have in public offices, in business or civic activity. The level of education, health condition, remuneration for performed work show the economic independence women and men enjoy. The way in which women and men participate in domestic work confirms or not equality in distribution of roles in households' administration and unpaid family tasks. To discuss about physical integrity and psychological comfort in day-to-day life, we use the data about violence against women and men.

The statistical data about women and men, reflecting their situation in all the areas of society life, represent the main tool for systematic analysis of relations and differences between women and men (gender analysis).

The use of these data by the state institutions is critical for formulation of public policies, because they affect differently women and men. Hence, they have to be planned and developed considering gender differences and even correcting them for meeting in a fair way women's and men's interests and needs.

Civil society may harness to maximum gender statistics to exercise fully the role of promoting citizens' interests and following the progress of state policy on equality of chances and assurance of women's and men's fundamental rights.

The national legal framework regulating the need to produce gender-sensitive indicators includes the Law on Assurance of Equality of Chances between Women and Men approved in 2006 (art.22), Law on Equality Assurance from 2012, as well as a number of strategies with action plans mentioning the importance of collecting and disaggregating data by sex in all the areas of the social-economic life.

The importance of data disaggregated by sex was also confirmed in the context of the Global Agenda for Sustainable Development by 2030, as well as for monitoring the progress in achieving the goal related to gender equality and empowerment of women and girls, and for evaluating the changes occurred in such areas as poverty, health, climate changes, infrastructure, food security, labor force employment, etc.

The quality of the gender statistics produced by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) of the Republic of Moldova is ensured by observing the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics (approved by the UN Economic Commission for Europe in 1992 and the UN / Statistics Commission in 1994), as well as through the Law on Official Statistics.

A compartment in the Statistical Data Bank of he NBS is dedicated to dissemination of gender statistics, which are part of the minimum set of gender indicators developed by the UN Statistics Commission.

To understand better how to work with data disaggregated by sex, we recommend the Guide for Gender Statistics User, produced by the National Bureau of Statistics.