Journalists use data to inform their storytelling, make comparisons over time, and hold decision-makers accountable to their constituencies. However, in many countries around the world, access to data is fraught with bureaucratic obstacles or is simply not available. When data access is not an issue, reliability and accuracy can be. Furthermore, data collection itself may not consider gender and/or other demographic differences, which can be extremely useful to produce content meant to inform policymaking or incentivize the design of meaningful and equitable interventions.

On May 12, members of the Internews HJN and EJN explored the World Bank Gender Data Portal with some of the experts that helped to build it. Features that are helpful for journalists were highlighted as was training resources available in multiple languages. We also heard directly from a local journalist who has recently produced stories on health that required them to gather and compare useful data to make sense of the story and assess its impact on the communities they report on.

Speakers:

• Sarah Bunker, Gender Specialist, World Bank
• Laura Cooper Hall, Gender Programme Officer, Human Rights in Conservation, IUCN
• Jhoandry Suárez, writer and journalist

Moderator:

• Beatrice Spadacini, Health Manager, Health Journalism Network, Internews