Gender equality has increasingly been recognized as essential to the process of sustainable development and the formulation of effective national development policies and programmes. The demand for gender statistics has increased over the years owing to the demands of national policies and international conventions. However, although Zimbabwe Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) has succeeded in establishing a relatively sound gender statistics programme, additional guidance is needed to improve the availability of data and ensure proper mainstreaming of gender issues in all areas of official statistics.

This document assesses the appropriateness and implementation of the Zimbabwe National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) II, 2016-2020 from a gender perspective. It aims to:

• Conduct a comprehensive assessment of the Gender Statistical System through the Zimbabwe NSDS (II) to determine Zimbabwe’s progress in mainstreaming gender in the statistical production process.
• Identify data and capacity gaps linked to gender statistics.
• Develop recommendations for the design and implementation of the Zimbabwe NSDS (III) from a gender data and statistics perspective.