The UN-Habitat indicator programme provides an elaborate and convincing rationale for gender disaggregated data. In what follows, we re-state much of the arguments. Women play an important role in the human settlements development process. They constitute at least 50 percent of the world’s population, and it is estimated that one-third of the households are women-headed. Despite the increasing recognition of the necessity for a gendered approach to human settlement, and the evidence that gender needs to be integrated in urban policies and shelter strategies, very little information exists regarding the respective roles of men and women in human settlements. This needs to be corrected. In many countries and areas of life, analysis of the status of women in human settlements is not easy because data do not exist. The contribution that women make to development, as well as the discrimination against them, are equally hidden. Indicators, which provide quantitative information on the roles and relations of men and women, are necessary for any analysis that integrates the gender dimension in housing and urban policies. This will enable the effective monitoring of the progress being made in bridging the gender gap in the urban sector.

The 1993 Human Development Report describes women as the “non-participating” majority. Women’s contribution in many areas of development has often been described as “invisible”. Data is needed not just on levels of education but male and female levels of education; male and female access to land and housing; male and femal contributions to the construction sector; male and female contributions to production and consumption and indeed, to all segments of human endeavour. All these are vital especially in developing countries like Nigeria where women in several communities are discriminated against in respect of access to education, jobs and other opportunities.

UN-Habitat (1998) has advanced further arguments in support of the need for a gender approach to the indicator study, argument, which we again reproduce here. The UN-Habitat has since 1985 stressed the importance of improving the status of women to take a more active part in the human settlements process as a whole, and of incorporating gender issues into its entire work programme. In 1988, the Global Shelter Strategy to the Year 2000 underlined the crucial role of women in shelter development. The Commission for Human Settlements, in its resolutions 13/3 (1991), 14/4 (1993) and 15/3 (1995) aimed at promoting the participation of women in human settlements developments, by requesting UNCHS (now UN-Habitat) to strengthen gender-sensitive approaches and methods in the Centre’s programmes and “to implement measures in the development of shelter strategy which strengthen the participation and empowerment of women in settlement development and management at local, regional and national levels”.

In particular:

  1. Resolution 14/4 (1993) requests the Head of UN-Habitat to review the set of key indicators which are being developed for monitoring shelter sector performance in terms of their gender sensitivity and to include indicators that are condusive to identifying the possibly disadvantaged position of women in the housing market in the shelter sector.
  2. Resolution 15/3 (1995) requests Governments to include gender-impact analyses as an essential step in the development and monitoring of human settlements

A gender dimension of human settlements development has become a crucial concern of UN-Habitat and indeed, of the entire UN family especially UNDP. A gender-sensitive approach is therefore crucial and must address the following:

  1. Identify, test, collect and analyze a set of urban and housing indicators.
  2. Establish the collection of shelter indicators in all countries providing a precise and defined basis to analyze their own performance.
  3. Implement a permanent data-collection facility and database that will permit regular analysis of the status of human settlements and the effects of policies in the different urban sectors.
  4. Assist countries in the preparation of country reports for Habitat II using a general indicator framework.
  5. Assist in national and regional efforts to develop indicators through training programme, survey design, and data definition and assembly.