Gender and Migration Data: A guide for evidence-based, gender-responsive migration governance

The purpose of this note is to provide concrete guidance to policymakers, national statistical offices (NSOs) and practitioners on why it is important to promote gender-responsiveness when collecting, producing, using, analysing and disseminating migration data for policy – and how. Gender and diversity analysis is one tool that policymakers, NSOs and practitioners can use to identify needs and address policy shortcomings as part of a gender analysis framework. 

This guidance note aims to address the migration data gaps in a manner relevant to all stakeholders, and promotes a whole-of-society approach. It is also meant to help operationalize IOM’s Migration Data Strategy and includes recommendations on enhancing gender indicators and gender-based methods in data production, protection, dissemination and use. The note provides succinct information on the extent to which gender is captured through macrolevel global data sets, along with a discussion of key issues relevant to gender and migration data.

The Guide is organized into three main sections: Section 1 presents the background on the rationale and the main goals of the Guide. Section 2 provides an overview of the international context and the state of the art in gender and migration data, and Section 3 offers guidelines for action at the national (and local) level to strengthen migration data work from a gender perspective.