Developing a survey instrument on the situation of migrant women at the country level

Women account for about half of the world’s 281 million international migrants. Accurate and timely sex-disaggregated data and gender statistics on migration are critical for understanding the specific situations, needs, and challenges of migrant women and men, and for shaping migration policy.

Although the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration calls for accurate, reliable, and comparable data disaggregated by sex, age, and migration status, these data continue to be lacking worldwide. This guidance document on developing and implementing dedicated surveys on the situation of migrant women at the country level aims to fill this gap. It should be treated as a dynamic document that can be contextualized and adapted based on the country context.

The guidance is organized into three main sections:

• Why a survey on the situation of migrant women?
• Survey objectives and methodology
• The four stages of developing and implementing the survey

This guidance document was developed based on a gender-responsive survey instrument conducted by UN Women in Niger in 2023 for collecting and analysing gender data in migration, as part of UN Women’s Making Migration Safe for Women Programme. Examples are provided throughout the guidance document of how a gender-responsive survey was conducted in Niger.