In recognition of International Women’s Day (8 March), the Global DevInfo initiative would like to highlight the recent launch of GenderInfo 2010, a global database of gender statistics and indicators. An initiative of the United Nations Statistics Division, produced in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), GenderInfo 2010 tracks the progress and gaps in achievement in economic, political and social areas against the gender-related goals of the Millennium Declaration.

Gender Info 2010 has been adapted from DevInfo 6.0 technology and presents the most up-to-date gender-related statistics available in the international statistical system.  The database contains more than 175 indicators for over 15,000 regional, national and sub-national areas, drawn from 590 sources across 80 time periods. GenderInfo 2010 presents cross-cutting data on a wide range of policy areas, including population, families, health, education, work and political participation. Data suggests that while progress has been made in closing the gender gap, disparities still exist in many key sectors, including education.  Regional data on enrolment in secondary education shows that girls lag behind in nearly all regions, except Latin America and East Asia and the Pacific.

Gender Info 2010 can be used by governments, international organizations, advocacy groups,