عربي
Background
PCBS’ Gender Statistics Program was established in order to fill the existing statistical gap concerning the situation of women and men in Palestine. Such course of action is necessary considering the critical deficiency the recently established ministries of the Palestinian Authority show in dealing with gender related topics of.
UNDP/PAPP supported PCBS’ initiative to establish a Gender Program in 1996 in order to better integrate gender issues in development policies in a focused manner rather than working in separate unrelated activities.
The goals of the Gender Statistics Program are:
-
To strengthen the national capacity to produce and disseminate gender statistics.
-
To Help policy makers and planing bodies by providing them with relevant information and data.
-
To sensitize PCBS’ staff on the importance of producing and disseminating gender related data.
Main Objectives:
- To raise awareness among policy makers, planners, NGOs, gender advocates and the public at large about the importance of gender desegregated data for the purposes of policy formation, planning and lobbying.
- To sensitize all PCBS’ staff on the importance of producing gender statistics and including a gender perspective in the day -to- day work and ensure that gender concerns are taken into consideration in the ongoing data collection programs.
Output:
-
Several workshops and meetings were held in order to establish a permanent communication mechanism with involved public institutions and NGOs.
-
A list of indicators was prepared according to the international recommendations and in accordance with the national needs and peculiarities.
-
Several publications and topical pamphlets have been prepared on gender issues such as education, health, labor force and public life, news papers concerning gender program activities and achievements, posters (Women and Men in Palestine), etc.
-
Questionnaires for different surveys were revised in order to make sure they reflect the gender perspective.
-
A comprehensive report on “Women and Men in Palestine, Trends and Statistics” was prepared and published discussing several socioeconomic aspects from the gender perspective. Thus, it provided a situation analysis of women and men in five areas of Palestinian life: population, education, health, labor force, and public life.
-
Access to Resources and Ownership Survey 1999:
Basic developmental indicators were obtained from the Access to Resources and Ownership Survey 1999 These are information on equal opportunities for men and women in terms of actions, decision and rights which are reflected through their actual access to resources and ownership. Data were collected in 2\ January\1999 for a complete month. The study was based on a sample of 2612 households and covered all Palestinians in the Palestinian territories: West Bank and Gaza Strip and was selected randomly to present the Palestinian society. People aged 18 years and above were the sample of this study.
Current Activities:
Time Use Survey is the main activity for the Gender Statistics Program. The main objective for this survey is to provide statistical data on the time spent by people and types of activities they engage in, as relevant to policy and decision making as any other figures provided by other surveys.
Generally speaking, the Time Use Survey will allow for the provision of information on a wide range of topics reflecting a picture of people's lifestyle in Palestine.
Improving Gender Statistics at a national level is one of the most important activities the Gender Statistics Program is following for the year 2000 - 2001.
Coming soon:
-
Booklet on Women and Men in Figures has been finalized and will be published soon.
-
Final report of Time Use Survey results.
Future Direction in Gender Statistics
In order to ensure a steady development in the Gender Program and in order to extend the scope of its work to fill the existing statistical gap pertinent to specific gender issues, list of activities need to be carried out in the near future.
Analytical reports: It is worth mentioning that the Population, Housing and Establishments Census of 1997 provided data on several socioeconomic aspects in Palestine. Work is now under way on three analytical reports from a gender-based point of view. These three reports are:
* Women in the refuges camps.
* Various characteristics of women as heads of households.
* Women in the labor force.
These reports and data have to be used in order to highlight any developments and evolutions in the economic and social aspects of Palestinian life.
The Time Use Survey will provide much needed information about women’s participation in the informal sector, and the time that the Palestinian women spend in caring for their children. Fieldwork was began on 8/5/1999 and finalized on 7/5/2000. A list of activities needs to be carried out on the survey in the near future. To achieve these activities:
* Four workshops and a seminar are planned to present the results of the Time Use Survey
* Analytical topical reports with specialized subject reports that go beyond the situation of women’s and men’s paid and unpaid work, and the time used on traditional women’s activities such as house work, caring for children and the elderly, must be written. These reports will include data on time spent on work for establishments, data on work for non-establishments, data on time spent on social and leisure activities, data on time spent on housework activities, data on activities of education and cultural activities, and data on the status of the Palestinian family.
Continuous Scope: Strengthen PCBS’ capacity to produce and disseminate gender statistics by ensuring that all official surveys integrate sex differences as a fundamental component, and that data analysis and presentation reflect a concern for gender issues.