Introduction

This playbook is designed to help financial regulatory authorities move from collecting and reporting gender-disaggregated data (GDD) toward using it more systematically in supervision, policymaking, and market development. It provides practical approaches, questions, and resources that financial inclusion, supervision, policy, data, and innovation teams can use to assess GDD readiness and identify the institutional and behavioural conditions affecting its use. The programme combines established GDD resources with practical lessons from the Alliance for Innovative Regulation’s (AIR) work in Nigeria and Tanzania, as well as the Global Design Sprint. It draws on the Innovation Elements Framework (IEF) and the COM-B model (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation) to identify institutional and behavioural barriers and opportunities for change.

Build the foundations for action

High-quality GDD helps regulators, policymakers, and providers identify gender gaps and make better-informed decisions. However, data alone is not enough; the challenge is to create institutional, behavioural, and operational conditions that turn insights into action. The playbook identifies 11 foundations for a strong GDD ecosystem: legal and regulatory anchoring; policy integration and strategic alignment; institutional ownership and governance; stakeholder coordination and ecosystem linkages; data architecture and reporting processes; dashboard and analytics capabilities; supervisory and market use; industry engagement and incentives; capacity and skills development; transparency and accountability; and sustainability and evolution. These foundations create the enabling environment needed to move from data collection to meaningful action.

GDD readiness

The playbook incorporates a diagnostic framework comprising five readiness levels: RL1 – Awareness (is gender data a recognised priority?); RL2 – Availability (what data already exists?); RL3 – Quality (can the data be trusted?); RL4 – Reporting (is information produced and shared consistently?); and RL5 – Usage (does GDD shape decisions?). A readiness assessment establishes a baseline from which priorities can be defined precisely. Beyond technical readiness, AIR uses the Innovation Elements Framework to explore how leadership, governance, incentives, people, technology, coordination, culture, and learning influence an institution’s ability to use GDD effectively. This includes mapping existing national architectures, such as the Bank of Tanzania’s consumer protection regulations or the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023, before creating new interventions.

Navigate the existing GDD ecosystem

Regulators can draw on a substantial body of existing GDD guidance and tools. For those beginning to assess availability, the UNCDF Gender Disaggregated Data Mapping Tool is a suggested starting point. Teams seeking to benchmark national outcomes may use the World Bank Global Findex Database. To raise awareness and build institutional buy-in, the UNSGSA report on Collecting and Using GDD for Financial Policymaking is recommended. For improving data systems, the AFI Guideline Note #39 provides standardised reporting templates. The playbook emphasises that identifying the most relevant resource for a specific problem is more critical than developing new tools from scratch.

From diagnosis to action: a practical approach

AIR’s programme is organised across three phases. Phase 1 (Foundational Discovery and Landscape Mapping) involves building an evidence base by understanding regulatory needs and institutional conditions. For example, the Tanzania project revealed opportunities to connect supply- and demand-side data, while the Nigeria project identified a need to activate existing GDD for market insight. Phase 2 (Ideation and Development) brings together diverse experts to translate evidence into solutions through Design Sprints. This phase involves creating personas from evidence—such as an ambitious micro-trader or a woman farmer—to ensure teams design for realistic circumstances. Phase 3 (Prototype Advancement and Targeted Acceleration) assesses a solution’s relevance and feasibility for sustained use. Examples of developed prototypes include ‘EquiPass’, a credit passport for women-owned SMEs, and ‘Voice2Impact’, which combines quantitative GDD with lived experiences from rural women.

Conclusion and next steps

Strengthening GDD is not only about collecting more data but about creating the conditions for that data to inform decisions. The appropriate next step depends on an institution’s existing data, mandates, and priorities. As a starting point, regulators should define the outcome they want GDD to support, assess their starting point using the readiness framework, build on what already exists, and define the problem before seeking a solution. Finally, creating conditions for sustained use requires assessing ownership, feasibility, and accountability before moving toward full implementation.