Technical Brief 1: Designing gender-responsive data projects

This brief provides a practical synthesis of key frameworks and guidelines for designing gender-responsive data projects, grounded in feminist and intersectional principles. It addresses the historical exclusion of women and marginalized groups from data systems and highlights how biased or incomplete data perpetuates inequality in public policy, services, and health outcomes. Moving beyond merely closing gender data gaps, the brief emphasizes embedding gender considerations throughout the entire data lifecycle—from planning and collection to analysis and sharing. Through reflective questions, case studies like Cosas de Mujeres, and insights into feminist data practices and ethical AI design, it offers actionable guidance to ensure data initiatives are inclusive, participatory, and rights-based. The brief ultimately calls for a shift from data neutrality to data justice, urging researchers and data producers to prioritize equity, context, and the lived realities of those most affected by systemic inequities.