Subject Guides
Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Guide Contents
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Why use statistics?
Statistics may gather information about women, gender and/or sexual orientation. Researchers use these to identify patterns, recognize gaps, and explore trends across populations or time. Government agencies and research institutes can be particularly useful sources of statistics and data.
Government Statistics and Data
- Statistical Abstract of the United StatesAn authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic conditions of the United States. Can download the statistics files as Excel files. Coverage: 1878-ongoing
- Census.govPrimary portal for U.S Census Bureau data on the nation's people and economy. Find data from the decennial census data, American Community Survey, Economic Census and more.
- World's Women ReportsThe World's Women reports are prepared by the Statistics Division of the UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) at five-year intervals, starting in 1990
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)Provides extensive labor market data on women and other worker groups through its news releases, publications, and website.
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ExploreEEOC Explore is an interactive data query and mapping tool that gives users access to the most current, granular, and privacy protected aggregate EEO-1 data publicly available.
- Centre for Disease Control and PreventionStatistics on a variety of topics including health risk factors, insurance coverage, mortality for women and the LGBTQ community.
- Data.govAccess to high value, machine readable datasets generated by the Executive Branch of the Federal Government.
Research & Policy Institutes
- America’s LGBT Economy ReportThe National LGBT Chamber of Commerce has released the first snapshot demonstrating the economic and social impact of America’s leading LGBT business owners and entrepreneurs.
- Institute for Women's Policy ResearchIWPR publishes its research in formats ranging from short fact sheets to longer form research reports. The Institute publishes on topics addressing the policy needs of women, including pay equity, retirement security, family leave, paid sick days, and employment.
- WomanStats DatabaseTrack over 350 variables in 175 countries, including issues such as rape, sex trafficking, maternal and child mortality, family law, women in government and the military, and many others. Information comes from sources such as government and NGO reports, news articles, and personal interviews with experts.
- Pew Research Center: Gender & LGBTQ PublicationsPew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world.
- The Williams Institute (UCLA School of Law)The Williams Institute conducts independent research on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy.