ALESS open data portal

Background

Gender inequality refers to unequal treatment, opportunities, and outcomes for people based on their gender. Despite progress in recent decades, significant differences remain globally in areas such as wages, education, political representation, and how people spend their time. Understanding gender inequality through data is important for identifying problems and tracking progress toward equality.

Research on gender inequality examines many dimensions:

Economic inequality: differences in pay, job opportunities, and leadership positions
Education: access to schooling and choice of study fields
Political representation: participation in government and decision-making
Time use: division of paid work, unpaid household work, and leisure time
Health: access to healthcare and health outcomes

Data Sources

Gender Pay Gap Data

1. OECD Gender Wage Gap

https://www.oecd.org/en/data/indicators/gender-wage-gap.html

Wage gap data for OECD countries (mainly developed countries)
Shows difference between median earnings of men and women
Data downloadable in Excel or CSV format
Good for: Comparing pay gaps across developed countries

2. World Bank Gender Data Portal

https://genderdata.worldbank.org/

Over 1,000 gender-related indicators
Includes economic participation, education, health data
Country profiles and interactive visualizations
All data downloadable
Good for: Comprehensive gender statistics across many countries

Overall Gender Equality Measures

3. World Economic Forum - Global Gender Gap Report

https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-gender-gap-report-2024/

Ranks countries on gender equality across four areas:
- Economic participation and opportunity
- Educational attainment
- Health and survival
- Political empowerment
Annual report with downloadable data
Good for: Comparing overall gender equality between countries

4. UN Gender Inequality Index (GII)

https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/thematic-composite-indices/gender-inequality-index

Measures inequality in reproductive health, empowerment, and labor market
Data for most countries worldwide
Values from 0 (equality) to 1 (inequality)
Good for: Global comparisons of gender inequality

Time Use Data

5. OECD Time Use Database

https://www.oecd.org/en/data/datasets/time-use-database.html

Shows how men and women spend time on different activities
Includes paid work, unpaid work (housework, childcare), and leisure
Data for OECD countries
Good for: Comparing time allocation between genders

6. Our World in Data - Time Use

https://ourworldindata.org/time-use

User-friendly visualizations of time use by gender
Based on OECD and other sources
Shows gender gaps in leisure time and unpaid work
Good for: Understanding time use patterns with clear visualizations

Women in Leadership and Politics

7. Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) - Women in Parliament

https://www.ipu.org/our-impact/gender-equality/women-in-parliament

Data on women's representation in national parliaments
Rankings by country, updated monthly
Historical data available
Good for: Studying women's political participation

Education Data

8. UNESCO Institute for Statistics

http://data.uis.unesco.org/

Gender data on education enrollment, literacy rates
Field of study by gender (STEM vs. other fields)
Global coverage
Good for: Studying gender gaps in education

Example research questions

To answer some of these questions, you might need to find other data to combine with gender inequality datasets (e.g., economic development level, education policies, childcare availability, parental leave policies, cultural attitudes, labor force participation rates).

What factors are associated with larger gender pay gaps between countries?

How does access to education relate to women's participation in government?

Is there a relationship between parental leave policies and gender equality in the workplace?

How do different countries compare in the amount of time men and women spend on unpaid work?

What is the relationship between women's education levels and gender pay gaps?

How does economic development relate to gender equality in different dimensions?

Tips for Using Gender Inequality Data

Getting Started:

Choose one specific aspect of gender inequality to focus on (pay, education, politics, or time use)
Start with 5-10 countries to compare
Our World in Data and World Bank Gender Portal are the most user-friendly starting points
Think about what other data might help explain differences between countries

Understanding the Data:

Gender pay gap: Usually shown as percentage difference (e.g., women earn 83% of what men earn)

Gender parity index: Ratio of female to male (1.0 = equal, <1.0 = favors males, >1.0 = favors females)

Time use: Usually measured in minutes or hours per day

Representation: Often shown as percentage (e.g., 25% of parliament seats held by women)

Making Comparisons:

Compare countries at similar economic development levels
Look for patterns across regions or cultural groups
Consider whether to use absolute numbers or rates/percentages
Think about what factors might explain the differences you observe

Combining Datasets: Gender inequality research often requires combining multiple datasets. For example:

Pay gap data + education data + parental leave policies
Women in parliament + literacy rates + GDP per capita
Time use data + childcare availability + employment rates

For Your Analysis:

Choose countries with complete data for your time period
Be clear about what you're measuring (pay gap, education gap, time spent, etc.)
Use graphs to show comparisons clearly
Consider both the current situation and trends over time

Citation: Always cite your data sources:

Examples: "OECD (2024). Gender Wage Gap Database. https://www.oecd.org/en/data/indicators/gender-wage-gap.html(accessed October 5, 2025)"

"World Bank (2024). Gender Data Portal. https://genderdata.worldbank.org/ (accessed October 5, 2025)"

Useful Additional Data Sources

When studying gender inequality, you might want to combine gender data with:

Economic data: GDP, income levels, unemployment rates (World Bank, OECD)
Policy data: Parental leave, childcare subsidies (OECD Family Database)
Education data: Enrollment rates, fields of study (UNESCO)
Cultural indicators: Values surveys, social attitudes (World Values Survey)
Labor market data: Employment rates, job types (ILO, OECD)

Questions? Need Help?

Gender inequality is complex - it's okay to focus on just one aspect
Start by looking at the visualizations on Our World in Data or World Bank Gender Portal
Think about what hypotheses you can test with available data
Consider what other factors might explain the patterns you see
Ask your professor if you're unsure which datasets to combine

Page updated

Report abuse