EIGE’s gender statistics database : gendering data for better decision-making.
Date: 2017-03-17
Institutions: European Institute for Gender Equality
Subjects: EU statistics, European Institute for Gender Equality, database, gender equality, information centre, sexual discrimination

EIGE’s Gender Statistics Database
Gendering data for better decision-making

What is EIGE’s Gender Statistics Database?

It  is  a  comprehensive  knowledge  centre  for  gender  statistics 
and  information  on  various  aspects  of  (in)equality  between 
women and men. It has been developed by the European Insti-
tute  for  Gender  Equality  (EIGE)  and  is   available  online  at  http://
eige.europa.eu. The main purpose of this database is to build a 
broad overview of statistics on gender, highlighting differences 
and  inequalities  between  both  sexes.  It  supports  the  measure-
ment of whether, or to what extent, gender equality is de facto 
being achieved. It also acts as a reliable resource in  formulation 

and   monitoring  of  policies  that  are  beneficial  for  both  women 
and  men  and  facilitates  making  appropriate  decisions  towards 
the  advancement  of  gender  equality.  The  database  contains 
gender  statistics  from  all  over  the  European  Union  (EU)  and 
beyond, at the EU, Member State and European level. It is aimed 
at   providing  statistical   evidence  which  can  be  used  to  support 
and  complement  the  European  Commission’s  (EC)  Strategy  on 
Gender  Equality  and  support  the  Member  States  to   monitor 
their progress.

What are gender statistics?

1. Homepage of the Gender Statistics Database

‘Statistics that adequately reflect  differences and  inequalities 
in  the  situation  of   women  and  men  in  all  areas  of  life’ 
(United  Nations 
 Statistical  Division’s  Gender  Statistics 
 Manual (1))

Gender  Statistics  and  indicators  on  the  situation  of  women  and 
men are needed to describe the roles of women and men in so-
ciety,  the  economy,  and  within  the  family,  to  provide  the  basis 
for the development of SMART policies and establish sound mo-
nitoring  and  evaluation  of  their   effectiveness.  They  can  help  us 
to  reflect  upon  the  challenges  strict  gendered  roles  in  society 
present, and  demonstrate the negative or positive changes in the 
status of women in comparison to men in areas such as educati-
on, work, access to resources, health or decision-making.

Why a database on gender statistics?

EIGE’s  mission  is  to  assist  EU  institutions  and  the  Member  States  in 
the  collection,  analysis  and  dissemination  of  objective,  reliable  and 
comparable information and data on equality between women and 
men. This data brings an added value to decision-makers by offering 
objective information on the different needs and priorities of women 
and men and different outcomes of EU policies on their lives.

Since the beginning of EIGE’s operations in 2010 one of the Insti-
tute’s  main  tasks  has  been  to  set  up  a  documentation  centre  (in 

physical  and  online  forms),  providing  the  public  with  easy  access 
to statistics, data, information, functioning models and approaches 
to gender mainstreaming. As a central part of these efforts the In-
stitute has developed a data source on gender statistics at the EU 
level. Based primarily on reliable and comparable sex-disaggrega-
ted data, the database serves as a one-stop access point for gen-
der  statistics  on  the  EU  and  (where  possible)  on  other  countries, 
such  as  candidate  countries,  in  the  Instrument  for  Pre-Accession 
Assistance (IPA).

1 

 http://unstats.un.org/unsd/genderstatmanual/Default.aspx

What can be found in EIGE’s Gender Statistics Database?

The data cover main gender-related research topics — thema-
tic  areas  such  as  Work  and  labour  market,  Education  and 

training, etc. and all European Union policy areas (see Table 1 
below).

Table 1. EU thematic and policy areas

Thematic areas
Organises data according to general areas of interest. 
The structure is similar to the frameworks of Eurostat 
and national statistical institutes.

 - Attitudes, perceptions and norms

 - Population and demography

 - Work and labour market

 - Time use

 - Financial and economic situation

 - Education and training

 - Health and mortality

 - Fertility and reproductive rights

 - Gender-based violence

 - Intersecting inequalities

 - Power and decision-making

 - Research, science, and technology

Policy areas
Organises data according to the framework  
of the European Union policy priorities.

 - Agriculture and fisheries
 - Business and enterprise
 - Citizenship, participation, and representation
 - Culture, education and youth
 - Economy and finance
 - Employment and social affairs
 - Enterprise and industry
 - Environment, climate action and energy
 - External relations and foreign affairs
 - Health
 - Information society
 - Justice and home affairs
 - Regions and local development
 - Science, research and technology
 - Transport and travel

Which data sources are used?

How often is it updated?

The  database  contains,  harmonised  at  the  EU  level,  interna-
tionally  comparable  data  from  sources  such  as  Eurostat,  DG 
Justice  and  Consumers,  Eurofound  and  the  EU  Fundamental 
Rights  Agency  (FRA),  although  a  number  of  national  sources 
are also included. All data are made publicly available at macro 
level  (at  Member  State  and  EU  levels).  However,  some  of  the 
macro  data  included  in  the  database  are  computed  by  EIGE 
from micro data (data at the individual or household level) (2).

EIGE’s Gender Statistics Database is updated on a rolling basis 
as  soon  as  new  data  becomes  available,  this  process  is  auto-
mated whenever possible, requiring minimal human interven-
tion, which ensures timely and error-free updating of data and 
metadata.

2 

 Statistics macro data refers to the result of a statistical transformation process in the form of aggregated information  
(Eurostat, RAMON — Reference and Management of Nomenclatures).
 Statistics micro data refers to non-aggregated observations, or measurements of characteristics of individual units  
(Eurostat, RAMON — Reference and  Management of Nomenclatures).

 
Table 2. The most impor tant data sources

Agency or organisation

Database or survey

Type of original data

Eurostat, the statistical office  
of the European Union

Eurofound

Eurostat’s online database

European Union Living Conditions Survey (EU-SILC); 
European Union Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS)

European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) 
European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS)

EU DG Justice and Consumers

Database Women and men in decision-making

EU Fundamental Rights 
Agency (FRA)

FRA survey on gender-based violence against women; 
European Union lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender 
(EU LGBT) survey

European Commission’s Public Opinion 
Analysis Division

Eurobarometer surveys

ESS ERIC

European Social Survey (ESS)

Macro data

Micro data

Micro data

Macro data

Micro data

Micro data

Micro data

Organisation for Economic  Cooperation 
and Development (OECD)

Programme for International Student  Assessment (PISA)

Micro and Macro data

OECD International Migration Database

World Health Organisation

Global Health Observatory Data Repository

United Nations 

World Bank

UNODC online database
UNECE Statistical Database

Gender Equality Data and Statistics Database

Macro data

Macro data

Macro data

Macro data

What is behind the data (metadata)?

Statistics metadata provides information on:
 – what the data purports to measure;
 – how  these  measurements  have  been  made  and  how  they 

should be interpreted;

 – who is responsible for collecting and disseminating the data;
 – how often the data is updated and disseminated;
 – where the updated data and additional information can be 

found;

 – the quality of data.

For  users  to  better  understand,  interpret,  evaluate,  and  ana-
lyse  statistical  data  (the  meaning  and  context  of  statistical 
data), metadata is an integral part of any statistical database. 
EIGE’s Gender Statistics Database displays the metadata along 
with  gender  equality  concepts  and  methods.  This  facili-
tates  the  identification  of  gaps  regarding  data  collection  on 
 gender  statistics  and  contributes  to  a  better  understanding 
of gender bias.

2. Search for data in specific policy or thematic areas

How is the database organised?

Users  can  either  browse  the  database  using  a  set  of  prede-
fined  entry  points  or  ‘tree’  structures  or  look  for  data  using 
a  free-form keyword search query.

•  The browsing option is geared toward users who want to 
explore a particular policy or thematic area in its entirety or 
who are new to the subject of gender statistics and would 
therefore benefit from a structured guide to the available data.
•   The keyword search option is most suited to those who are 
looking for a particular dataset or area of interest, but are not 
sure where to find it in the predefined structures.

Entry points and tree structure organisation are to be progres-
sively  adapted  to  the  users’  needs.  Users  have  access  to  the 
same statistical information through different entry points.

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Table 3. The six entr y points/browsing trees

1.  Thematic areas 

The  ‘Thematic  areas’  are  based  on  possible  areas  of  in-
terest  on  gender  equality  from  the  user’s  perspective 
and  the  structured  frameworks  provided  by  the  data 
sources where the data is available.

2.  Policy areas 

‘Policy areas’ are  structured in line with  the  established 
policy  areas  of  the  EU  and  priorities  of  the  EU  institu-
tions.  It  is  a  particularly  relevant  entry  point  for  EIGE’s 
main stakeholders who are policymakers within EU insti-
tutions and the Member States.

3.  EU strategies  

Closely  related  to  ‘Policy  areas’,  the  ‘EU  strategies’  sec-
tion  organises  data  according  to  the  priorities  defined 

at  EU  level,  including  ‘EU  2020’,  ‘Horizon  2020’  and  the 
‘EU  strategy  for  equality  between  women  and  men 
2010–15’.

4.  Gender Equality Index 

This  section  organises  data  according  to  the  domains 
and subdomains of the Gender Equality Index.

5.  Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA) 

The organisation of data follows the 12 areas of concern 
of the BPfA.

6.  Women and men in decision-making 

EIGE is taking over the European Commision‘s database 
on women and men in decision-making positions from 
2017. The database shows and monitors the allocation of 
women and men in key decision-making roles. 

3. An example of a graph in the database

What is its added value?

1. 

2. 

3. 

 ONE-STOP  SOURCE  The  main  added  value  of  EIGE’s  da-
tabase is that it provides a one-stop source for all gender 
statistics at the Member State and European Union levels, 
making your search fast and easy.
 EASY  ACCESS  It  provides  access  for  those  more  ex-
perienced  statisticians  to  the  computed  macro-level 
 aggregates of micro data. In addition, it is  particularly use-
ful  to  non-expert  users  and  users   without  access  to  the 
original micro data. The browsing tree structures serve as 
a structured guide to the  available data.
 UP TO DATE This database features automated  updating; 
resulting in more timely and less error-prone updating of 
the data.

How can it be accessed?

The  establishment  of  EIGE’s  Gender  Statistics  Database  be-
gan  in  2013.  Its  contents  and  structure  were  developed 
 during  2014–15.  It  was  launched  to  the  public  in  early  2016 

and is updated regularly on a rolling basis; new datasets and 
updates  of  the  existing  ones  are  added  as  they  become 
available.

The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) is the EU knowledge centre on gender equality. EIGE supports policymakers 
and all relevant institutions in their efforts to make equality between women and men a reality for all Europeans by providing 
them with specific expertise and comparable and  reliable data on gender equality in Europe.

More information:
European Institute for Gender Equality, EIGE
Gedimino pr. 16
LT-01103 Vilnius
LITHUANIA
+370 52157444
E-mail: eige.sec@eige.europa.eu

http://eige.europa.eu
http://www.twitter.com/eurogender
http://www.facebook.com/eige.europa.eu
http://www.youtube.com/eurogender
http://eurogender.eige.europa.eu/

ISBN 978-92-9493-639-4 
doi:10.2839/31036