Call to action: Use of gender data and statistics to deliver more inclusive 3rd generation CIDPs

Many counties have historically over-relied on administrative data that is primarily quantitative and lacks important nuances for societal transformation.

Lack of appropriately disaggregated data, insufficient institutional capacities in data application, and issues with timely data availability have all been impediments, particularly at the county level. However, progress has been made to overcome such challenges.

For example, Laikipia county has developed a county-specific c statistical abstract for the last 3 years, contributing heavily to data availability.

Moreover, KNBS, UN Women, and the State Department for Gender have increased the production of gender-disaggregated data products including the publication of gender monographs, county gender fact sheets, the women empowerment index report, and comprehensive poverty profiles. These products are readily available on the KNBS Website/UN Women website.

Additionally, peer-to-peer engagement among counties on the utilization of data, not only increases knowledge of the available gender data and statistical products but also promotes collective understanding of the place of data for county development.

Through a series of action roundtables, GROOTS Kenya with the support of UN Women and Equal measures 2030 has invested in ensuring that county technical officers across different sectors i.e., planning, gender, agriculture, energy, water, and trade are equipped with gender data products for use in the upcoming CIDPs.

This is therefore a call to action to all counties to leverage the changing gender data landscape and utilize available gender data products to plan better for women and men of Kenya.

For visualized gender data: visit www. genderdatakenya.org. To track the progress Kenya is making against other countries in the world visit https://www.equalmeasures2030.org/2022-sdg-gender-index/

Moreover, to learn more about the Kenya Country fact sheet and other new gender data products visit the Women Count program at https://data.unwomen.org/country/Kenya

Written by: Fridah Githuku, Dennis Mwaura and Vivian Muthoni.