From data to action: UN Women advances a regional data agenda for gender-responsive climate action

^{Group photograph. Photo: UN Women.}

On 2 and 3 July, Mexico City hosted the regional workshop “Advances in the Development of Gender, Environment and Climate Change Indicators and their Georeferencing,” organized by UN Women Mexico. The event brought together nearly 100 participants, both in person and online, from 16 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean. Representatives from national women's machineries, ministries of environment, national statistical offices, international organizations, and research institutions came together with a shared objective: to strengthen the production and use of data to support more effective, gender-responsive public policies to that address the climate crisis.

The triple planetary crisis affects women and men differently. While women face disproportionate risks and inequalities resulting from climate change, they also play a critical role in the sustainable management of natural resources, biodiversity conservation, and the development of adaptation and resilience solutions. Yet these contributions remain largely invisible in the data that inform public decision-making. Producing evidence that captures both gender inequalities and women's contributions to climate action is essential for designing more effective and inclusive policies.

In this context, Eleonora Betancourt, UN Women Representative in Mexico, emphasized that “developing gender and climate change indicators is not only a technical challenge, it is also a responsibility. A responsibility we owe to the women and girls of our region. Behind every indicator are rights, opportunities and the potential to drive transformation through evidence and action.”

Similarly, Nidya Pesántez, Lead of UN Women's Regional Hub on Gender, Environment and Climate Justice for Latin America and the Caribbean, stressed that data should serve to transform the way public policies are designed. “We do not want data that simply allows us to continue doing things the same way. We want data that inspires a new vision, new ways of thinking and a new understanding of how we shape our future,” she noted during the opening session.

^{Presentation of indicators. Photo: UN Women.}

The workshop marked another milestone in the regional process led by UN Women since 2024 under the regional programme "Gender, Environment and Climate Change: Scaling up Effective, Just and Efficient Climate Action," funded by the Government of Luxembourg. What began two years ago in Aguascalientes, Mexico, with the identification of indicators to consistently measure the links between gender and the environment, has evolved through the joint technical work of Brazil, Chile and Mexico into a shared methodology and an initial set of 21 regional gender, environment and climate change indicators.

Although this work was initially implemented in the three programme countries, its objective has always been to develop tools that could benefit the entire region. The workshop expanded this effort by incorporating the perspectives and priorities of an additional 13 countries, enriching the methodological framework and laying the foundation for its future adoption and adaptation across Latin America and the Caribbean. Participants reviewed progress to date, shared lessons learned from implementation, and identified opportunities to further strengthen this regional agenda.

The programme also featured presentations from key regional partners, including UNEP, ECLAC and UNDP, which shared updates on regional policy frameworks, cooperation initiatives and tools to strengthen the integration of gender perspectives into environmental and climate policies. International experts presented the latest global developments in gender and environment statistics, while representatives from Brazil and Mexico showcased practical experiences in applying geospatial tools to identify the intersections between gender inequalities and environmental vulnerability.

One of the workshop's main milestones was the presentation of the roadmap for the newly established Working Group on Gender, Environment and Climate Change Statistics under the Statistical Conference of the Americas (SCA) of ECLAC. Created at the request of Guatemala, the Working Group will be jointly supported by UN Women and UNEP as the Technical Secretariat. Its establishment represents one of the most significant outcomes of the process initiated by UN Women: an initiative that began with the development of indicators in three countries and has now evolved into a permanent regional mechanism to strengthen methodological development, promote technical exchange among countries, and advance comparable gender and climate statistics that support evidence-based policymaking across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Working sessions held throughout the two-day workshop identified opportunities to further strengthen and expand the existing set of indicators, improve their comparability across countries, and enhance their integration into national policy formulation, implementation, and monitoring processes. Discussions reinforced that generating evidence is a collective effort and an essential prerequisite for responding effectively to the challenges posed by the triple planetary crisis.

Today, Latin America and the Caribbean has a solid regional platform to ensure that evidence goes beyond statistics and translates into stronger public policies. Measuring inequalities, while also making women's contributions to climate action visible, is the first step towards accelerating a more just, inclusive and effective environmental transition across the region.