Methodological Guidelines for the Gender Analysis of National Population and Housing Census Data

One of the main pillars of UNFPA’s technical support for national Population and Housing Censuses is to make certain that the best possible use is made of the information collected to inform policy and programming; particularly in areas such as sexual and reproductive health and rights, adolescents and youth, population dynamics and gender.

Gender analysis needs to assess, analyze and reveal the processes of differential social roles, variance in social treatment and outright discrimination that explain the observed results.

UNFPA collaborated up with UN Women, the UN Statistics Division and UNICEF.

It complements the more general manual on gender statistics by the UN Statistics Division (United Nations, 2013), reviews a variety of data sources, and the manual recently published by the Asia and Pacific Regional Office (UNFPA, 2013), which covers all aspects of the census process in the specific context of Southern Asia.

It is anticipated that the methodological guidance provided in this manual will offer National Statistical Offices and those concerned with gender issues to make increasingly effective use of the data from Population and Housing Censuses. More importantly, based on sound systematic analysis, we hope that national authorities are in a better position to celebrate success where it has been measurably achieved, and squarely address inequality and discrimination wherever it remains.