"This report provides background context on how big data can be used to facilitate and assess progress towards the SDGs, and focuses in particular on SDG 5 – “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. It examines successes and challenges in the use of big data to improve the lives of women and girls, and identifies concrete data innovation projects from across the development sector that have considered the gender dimension. This report is the result of a literature review focused on big data and gender, interviews with colleagues from UN Women and UN Global Pulse, interviews with individuals and organizations working in the field of big data (LIRNEAsia, IDRC, World Wide Web Foundation, and the University of Southern California), and answers to a short questionnaire posed to six UN Women country offices." (About this Report, page 2)