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from water sources, therefore affects women andgirls to a greater extent than men and boys. Thismakes these indicators, along with indicators onthe division of labour within the household (e.g.,who is in charge of collecting water or firewood),essential for gender analysis. 10THE PRODUCTION OF GENDER STATISTICSIS NOT ALWAYS PRIORITIZEDLack of accurate statistics is partly the consequenceof weak, under-resourced statistical systems,particularly in developing countries. However,gaps in gender statistics also arise from failure toprioritize the collection of these data: as recentreviews have shown, there is evidence of a viciouscycle whereby low availability of gender statisticsleads to a lack of demand from policy makers andresearchers, which in turn can reduce the incentivefor their production.In 2013, a global review of gender statisticsprogrammes in 126 countries found that only 37per cent had a coordinating body for genderstatistics at the national level and only 13 per centhad a regular dedicated budget for the productionof these data. 11 Reviews of the implementationof the Beijing Platform for Action found thatbesides technical and financial constraints, alack of political will and limited awareness of theimportance of gathering data on gender equalityare critical barriers to progress. 12Policy priorities matterThe adoption of the Millennium DevelopmentGoals (MDGs) led to significant efforts to improvestatistical capacity in developing countries,including on gender equality and women’sempowerment, 13 but this was to the detriment ofareas that were not included in the framework suchas violence against women or unpaid care work.Similarly, decades of neglect of agriculturein policy have been accompanied by largecutbacks in agricultural statistical services. 14Given the importance of agriculture as a sourceof employment for women, particularly in SouthAsia and sub-Saharan Africa, lack of investmentin agricultural statistics leads to glaring gaps inknowledge of rural women’s lives, notably oncontrol over land and other productive assets andon access to extension services and credit.The broader pictureThe lack of reliable gender statistics cannotbe separated from wider structural issues.For example, in the absence of adequateadministrative data sources, data on the maternalmortality ratio mostly relies on estimates byinternational agencies, which are subject to highlevels of uncertainty. 15Yet, the development of civil registration and vitalstatistics (CRVS) systems, which is necessary foradequately recording deaths, calls for investmentbeyond the statistical systems themselves: itrequires health systems that can adequately recordthe exact cause of death.According to the World Health Organization(WHO), globally an estimated 7.6 million childrenunder the age of 5 died in 2010, but fewer than 2.7per cent of those deaths were medically certified,assigned a cause of death by a health workeror recorded in an official database. This lack ofbasic information affects countries’ capacity foreffective health planning and management. 16BREAKING THE CYCLE: AN AGENDA FORIMPROVING GENDER STATISTICSGiven the monitoring requirements for thepost-2015 development agenda, as well as theongoing implementation of the Convention on theElimination of All Forms of Discrimination againstWomen (CEDAW) and the Beijing Platform forAction, the need to produce more and betterdata, disaggregated by sex, socio-economicstatus, geographical location, race and ethnicityand other markers of disadvantage, as well asadditional gender-sensitive indicators, is nowgreater than ever. The proposed SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs) and targets are farmore expansive than the MDGs, so there aresignificant opportunities to improve genderstatistics.245