The UN Women and the National Statistics Office of Georgia (GEOSTAT) hosted the second regional conference “Accelerating progress towards inclusive development through gender statistics” in Tbilisi, Georgia. The event brought together over 60 senior statisticians and gender focal points from national statistical offices from across Western Balkans, Türkiye, Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia, as well as researchers, and policy makers from regional and international organizations.

“The regional conference celebrates 105th anniversary of GEOSTAT and 25 years of collecting gender statistics in Georgia. Heads of statistical offices from 18 countries around the world are participating in the event. I would like to congratulate all statisticians on this day and thank them for their fruitful cooperation”, - said Gogita Todradze, Executive Director of GEOSTAT.

The two-day conference aimed to enhance the knowledge of participants and share the best practices and experiences on leveraging gender data and evidence for informed policy making on gender equality and the empowerment of women. The participants took stock of the national strategies and practices for collection and use of gender data for better policy making; shared progress made by countries to increase data availability in emerging areas such violence against women, unpaid care work, gender pay gap, data disaggregation to ensure no one is left behind and unlocking the power of gender data communications. Representatives of the national statistical offices also shared promising practices and experiences on harmonization and improvement of measurements and use of gender data across the region to further enrich learning and peer-exchange.

“Better gender statistics are essential for informed policies and improved lives. We need strong leadership from the National Statistical Office and the broader National Statistical System, along with gender-responsive planning, coordination, collaboration, and advocacy. Investing time and resources in these elements is essential for sustaining long-term progress”, - underlined Papa Seck, UN Women Chief of Research and Data Section.