Experts review how ECA’s flagship gender development index can remain relevant in years to come

A group of experts met this week in Addis Ababa to review the African Gender Development Index, a flagship tool of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), which governments have been using since 2004 to measure their progress towards achieving their gender equality commitments.
Held at ECA’s headquarters on 17 and 18 October, the meeting brought a range of government officials from national statistical offices and ministries responsible for gender and women’s affairs, gender specialists and development practitioners for a two-day consultation on the scope and methodology of the index.
As a background for the consultation, experts considered a series of presentations, which highlighted recent developments such as the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the 2020 UN Secretary-General’s Call to Action for Human Rights, as well as lessons learned from the index’s implementation across the continent since it first became available.