National Women’s Council welcomes commitment to collect data on equality

Published: Monday, February 09, 2026

We need equality data to understand access of disabled women, migrant women, and Traveller and Roma women to public services

Press release for immediate release

As a member of the National Equality Data Strategy Working Group, NWC welcomes the publication of Ireland's first National Data Equality Strategy. In particular, NWC welcomes the commitment in the Strategy which requires all Government Departments to collect, use or disseminate equality data and to develop the organisational capacity to fulfil this commitment.

NWC’s Executive Director Corrinne Hasson said:

“Having data about who accesses services is crucial to understand what groups of people are less likely to have the support they need from the State. For example, we currently don’t have the full picture on how many women are experiencing homelessness. We don’t have the full picture on the scale of gender-based violence. In our health system, it’s not enough just to know how many people access maternity or GP services overall, we need to know which women are missing out – whether Traveller women or perhaps disabled women are less likely to get an appointment or appropriate care when they need it.

When data is properly broken down, we can see where barriers exist and how to design services so that they actually reach women in all their diversity. Having this information is crucial to making evidence-based policy, so this commitment is really welcome.”

Equality data is information that is useful for the purposes of describing and analysing the state of equality. This includes things like gender, age, disability, ethnicity, among other protected characteristics outlined in Equality Acts.

NWC and our members have long called for Ireland to be a leader in the collection of equality data, as without this information it is impossible to see the progress and remaining gaps in gender equality across our society. That includes in education, health, employment, and other key areas. Women, particularly disabled women, migrant women, Traveller and Roma women, lone parents and older women, are often missing or hidden in national data due to the inability to disaggregate data sets.

The National Equality Data Strategy can be a critical step toward evidence-based policymaking, but implementation is key. The implementation of this Strategy will allow for better outcomes in other existing equality strategies, like the National Strategy for Women and Girls, the National Action Plan Against Racism, and the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People. 

NWC’s (Acting) Head of Policy Doireann Crosson said:

“NWC looks forward to supporting the implementation of this Strategy through its ongoing participation in the National Equality Data Strategy Working Group. In doing so, we hope to contribute to the Strategy's first annual Action Plan for the Strategy which will identify priorities and set out timelines for progress. To make sure this Strategy contributes to meaningful reduction in inequalities, it must be properly resourced, ensuring relevant staff are trained, and appropriate IT systems are built.”

Ends/

For comment: Corrinne Hasson and Doireann Crosson

For more information, please contact Sinéad Nolan, NWC Communications and Social Media Coordinator, 085 8619087 or sineadn@nwci.ie

Notes:

About NWC

The National Women’s Council is the leading national representative organisation for women and women’s groups in Ireland, founded in 1973. We have over 190 member groups and a large and growing community of individual supporters.

The ambition of the National Women’s Council is an Ireland where every woman enjoys true equality and no woman is left behind. This ambition shapes and informs our work, and, with our living values, how we work.

We are a movement-building organisation rooted in our membership, working on the whole island of Ireland. We are also part of the international movement to protect and advance women’s and girls’ rights. Our purpose is to lead action for the achievement of women’s and girls’ equality through mobilising, influencing, and building solidarity. Find out more on www.nwci.ie