SESRIC participated in the Training on “Big Data and Data Science for Gender Statistics in Asia and the Pacific”, held on 27 –30 October 2025 at the United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC) in  Bangkok, Thailand.

The training was co-organised by the UN Women Knowledge and Partnership Centre, the UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, and the Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP). It brought together members of the Subgroup on Gender Statistics Training (SGGST) under the Network for the Coordination of Statistical Training in Asia and the Pacific to strengthen the capacity of national statistical systems in integrating big data and data science into gender statistics production and analysis.

SESRIC, represented by Mr. Seyid Tahir MAHMUD, Senior Statistics Officer, participated in the training as a member of the SGGST. SESRIC has been a formal member of the Subgroup since 2018, contributing to regional efforts to advance statistical training and capacity building in the field of gender statistics.

The four-day training aimed to enhance participants’ understanding of the use and benefits of big data in producing and analysing gender statistics, and to promote the adoption of innovative data science methodologies for addressing gender data gaps. The sessions covered key technical areas, including:

• Big data collation for gender statistics
• Gender statistics concepts and definitions
• Reproducible analytical pipelines and data science good practices
• Machine learning methods and applications
• Geospatial data and methods to augment gender-relevant statistics
• Methods and practices to collate and analyse online data
• Biases, ethics and good practices for big data and gender statistics
• Challenges in big and non-traditional data integration
• Assessment tool for evaluating organizational maturity in big data and data science

The training combined lectures, presentations, group discussions, and practical exercises using R programming. Participants were also invited to share national experiences and country presentations outlining their institutions’ initiatives and challenges in using big data for official statistics.

The event served as a valuable platform to exchange knowledge, innovative methodologies, and regional experiences for advancing gender data integration into official statistics frameworks. SESRIC’s participation reaffirmed its commitment to fostering international cooperation and knowledge sharing in the field of gender statistics, in line with its mandate to strengthen the statistical capacities of OIC countries.

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