What Data2X, United Nations Foundation does

Data2X is a Washington, DC-based civil society organization and gender data alliance founded in 2012 at the United Nations Foundation, with a transition team of approximately 11 individuals. Its mission is to improve the quality, availability, and use of gender data globally, operating at the intersection of gender equality advocacy and official statistics infrastructure. As of May 2026, Data2X has joined Open Data Watch, integrating its programs, knowledge assets, and team into ODW's broader data systems efforts.

Data2X's core deliverables are research-driven knowledge products and frameworks rather than commercial software. Its proprietary portfolio includes the BRIDGE Tool and Gender Data System Maturity Model for assessing national gender data systems; the Gender Data Solutions Inventory cataloguing 142 solutions across seven development areas; the Gender Data Use / Enabling Environment Framework; the Five Principles of Inclusive Data; the State of Gender Data annual reports on financing, solutions, and commitments; the Big Data for Gender Research program (ten funded projects on geospatial, digital exhaust, and internet data); the Women's Financial Inclusion Data Partnership with pilots in six countries; the Gender Data Network connecting experts across 15+ countries; and a public Resource Center. Underlying all of these is a methodology-heavy IP base developed jointly with Open Data Watch and a network of more than 50 partner organizations.

Data2X has no commercial revenue. It is funded by philanthropic grants — primarily from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (founding and continuing major funder), the Hewlett Foundation, and the Generation Foundation — supplemented by in-kind and coordinated funding flows from governments, multilaterals, and the private sector. The organization has leveraged over $100 million for gender data across the broader ecosystem since 2012, though this is mobilized funding rather than Data2X's own operating budget. Its go-to-market is partnership- and convening-led: it drives adoption of its tools through direct engagement with national statistical offices, UN agencies, civil society, and global normative forums (CSW, Generation Equality Forum, COP), with the Resource Center and The 2X Take blog serving as free, self-serve distribution channels.

Name

Data2X, United Nations Foundation

Legal name

Data2X

Website

https://data2x.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Data2X is a Washington, DC-based gender data alliance founded in 2012 that produces frameworks, tools, and research to improve the quality and use of gender data globally, serving national statistical offices, UN agencies, civil society, and the private sector. As of May 2026, it has joined Open Data Watch.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Gender Data Research and Advocacy Services

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821), Libraries and Archives (51921)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Data Governance Platforms (Policies, Stewardship, Workflows) (HDAEADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Dataset Discovery, Marketplaces & Licensing (HDAAALAE), Data Observability & Monitoring (HDAEADAI)

Keywords

• Gender data advocacy
• Data maturity assessment
• Gender data financing
• Women's financial inclusion
• Inclusive data frameworks

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation and Philanthropic Grants: Data2X is primarily funded through grants from major philanthropic foundations. Its founding funder and current major backer is the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Hewlett Foundation is also listed as a funding partner. As a civil society organization and gender data alliance, Data2X does not generate commercial revenue. Funding is used to support advocacy, research, partnerships, and the production of gender data tools and knowledge products.
2. Government and Multilateral Funding: Data2X has leveraged over $100 million for gender data from governments, multilaterals, and the private sector since 2012. Funding flows include official development assistance (ODA) for gender data, donor coordination, and country-driven resource mobilization. As of May 2026, Data2X has joined Open Data Watch, which may affect future funding structures.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Data2X is a civil society organization and gender data alliance that produces research, frameworks, assessment tools, advocacy publications, and partnership programs aimed at improving the quality, availability, and use of gender data worldwide. Its standalone offerings include the BRIDGE gender data maturity assessment tool, the Gender Data Solutions Inventory (142 solutions across seven development areas), the Gender Data Network of national statistical experts, the Women's Financial Inclusion Data Partnership, and the Big Data for Gender Research Program. All products, tools, and resources are provided free of charge and funded primarily through philanthropic grants.

Product overview

Data2X is a civil society organization and gender data alliance that works to improve the production and use of gender data through strategic partnerships, research, advocacy, and communications. It operates as a portfolio of interconnected programs and publications rather than a single unified software product. Core offerings include the BRIDGE Tool (a maturity assessment for national gender data systems), the Gender Data Solutions Inventory (a database of 142 solutions across seven development areas), the Women's Financial Inclusion Data Partnership, the Gender Data Network (connecting national statistical experts across 22+ countries), and the State of Gender Data Initiative (an annual publication series). These are supplemented by advocacy briefs, toolkits (including the Valuing Women's Time Toolkit and Data Cooperative Handbook), research reports (on topics such as time use data, responsible AI, and big data for gender research), and a publicly accessible Resource Center. As of May 2026, Data2X has joined Open Data Watch as part of a strategic partnership to integrate its programs into ODW's broader data systems efforts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Building Responsive Investments in Data for Gender Equality (BRIDGE) Tool A diagnostic and planning tool developed by Data2X and Open Data Watch for countries to assess the maturity of their gender data systems and articulate priorities for investing in and strengthening them. Intended for gender data focal points in national statistical offices of low- and middle-income countries.
• Gender Data Solutions Inventory A database produced in partnership with Open Data Watch cataloguing 142 gender data solutions across seven development areas: economic opportunities, education, environment, health, human security, public participation, and cross-domain solutions. Includes methodology for selecting scalable solutions with demonstrated impact.
• Gender Data Network (GDN) A network formed by Data2X bringing together gender data experts from national statistical systems in 15 countries (expanding to include the Asia Pacific and ECLAC regions) to share innovative solutions to common barriers for producing and using high-quality gender data.
• Women's Financial Inclusion Data (WFID) Partnership A partnership led by Data2X with technical guidance from the Financial Alliance for Women, undertaking pilot projects in six countries (Bangladesh, Honduras, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Türkiye) to develop gender data supply-side interventions aimed at increasing women's financial inclusion.
• Big Data for Gender Research Program A research program that funded ten pioneering projects exploring the use of big data—including geospatial, digital exhaust, and internet activity data—to fill the global gender data gap and complement insights from traditional data sources.
• Resource Center A curated online library of gender data resources—including reports, case studies, databases, infographics, knowledge briefs, toolkits, and videos—organized by topic (Big Data, Health, Education, Financing, etc.) and type, available free of charge.
• State of Gender Data Initiative An evolving annual Data2X publication and digital experience highlighting global progress on gender data, examining funding trends, showcasing promising solutions, and tracking key commitments across three dimensions: Financing, Solutions, and Commitments.
• Women's Economic Empowerment (WEE) Measurement Learning Collaborative A learning collaborative launched in May 2021 by the Center for Global Development and Data2X, convening Women's Economic Empowerment experts across sectors to improve the quality and relevance of WEE measurement tools and indicators, and proposing quality and transparency standards for WEE population monitoring tools.
• Valuing Women's Time: A Practical Advocacy Toolkit for Data-Driven Policy Change A practical advocacy toolkit developed with Generation Foundation support, equipping gender advocates, policymakers, researchers, and civil society leaders with step-by-step guidance to translate time use data into gender-responsive policy action, with case studies from Sub-Saharan Africa.
• The Gender Data Foundations of Responsible and Equitable AI A report arguing that AI is only as fair as the data behind it, exploring how gender data gaps affect AI across sectors from finance and health to agriculture and climate, with recommendations for governments, donors, civil society, and the private sector.
• Building an Enabling Environment for Gender Data Use A research brief presenting a two-layer framework for understanding how gender data moves from production to meaningful use and impact, covering usability, policies and practice, capacity building, and financing, accompanied by measurement approaches for assessing the impact of gender data use.
• Data for Democracy: Investments in Gender Data Strengthen Democratic Resilience A policy brief exploring the connection between gender data and democratic health, demonstrating that steady investments in gender data are essential to safeguard and strengthen democratic resilience.
• Time Use Data Shape Better Policies A brief exploring time use data applications across social protection, care, education, infrastructure, environment, and macroeconomic policies, with case studies from South Korea, Senegal, Mexico, Ecuador, India, Uganda, Kenya, Honduras, Ethiopia, Finland, and the United Kingdom.
• How To Build a Data Cooperative: A Practitioner's Handbook A hands-on guide produced in collaboration with the Aapti Institute and Open Data Manchester for groups interested in forming data cooperatives, laid out in four steps: determining if data co-ops are the right model, identifying the value proposition, designing governance architecture, and creating data infrastructure.
• Five Key Principles for Inclusive Data A framework articulating five key principles of inclusive data—Representation, Disaggregation and Intersectionality of All Identities, Multiple Data Sources, Privacy, and Adequate Financing and Capacity—drawn from Data2X's operational approach to gender data as foundational to gender equality and sustainable development.
• Driving Change with Gender Data: Insights from Kenya's Subnational Advocacy Efforts A case study published in February 2026 showcasing the partnership between Data2X, the Local Development Research Institute (LDRI), and GROOTS Kenya over three years, with documented advocacy wins and tangible outcomes across several Kenyan counties.
• What We Built Together: A Brief History of Data2X A reflection report published in April 2026 tracing Data2X's evolution over more than a decade, highlighting contributions to the global gender data ecosystem and lessons for advancing inclusive policymaking as Data2X enters its next chapter with Open Data Watch.

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship / core, core and secondary.

• Open Data Watchflagship / coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026Data2X joined Open Data Watch as of May 2026 as part of a new strategic partnership to advance gender data globally. Building on a long-standing collaboration since Data2X's founding in 2012, the transition integrates Data2X's programs, knowledge assets, and workstreams into Open Data Watch's broader data systems efforts. Open Data Watch brings deep expertise at the intersection of open data and official statistics, supporting institutional change in data systems worldwide. Data2X was previously housed at the United Nations Foundation.
• Center for Global Development (CGD)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2021Data2X and CGD launched the WEE Measurement Learning Collaborative in May 2021, convening Women's Economic Empowerment (WEE) experts across sectors to improve the quality and relevance of WEE measurement tools and indicators. The collaboration aims to advance understanding and informed use of WEE-related measures for research and action, proposing quality and transparency standards for WEE population monitoring tools.
• Gender Data Network (GDN) — African Center for Statistics, UN Economic Commission for Africa, Open Data Watch, and PARIS21coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019The Gender Data Network was formed in 2019 by Data2X in partnership with the African Center for Statistics, UN Economic Commission for Africa, and Open Data Watch. PARIS21 serves as the secretariat. The network brings together gender data experts from national statistical systems in 15 countries (expanding to include Asia Pacific and ECLAC regions) to share innovative solutions to common barriers for producing and using high-quality gender data. The GDN formally commits as a technical assistance partner to the W20.
• Financial Alliance for WomencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Financial Alliance for Women provides technical guidance to the Women's Financial Inclusion Data Partnership (WFID), led by Data2X. The partnership aims to change the reality of the persistent global gender gap in financial inclusion by generating and making high-quality gender data openly available for policymakers and financial service providers to understand the women's market opportunity.
• Women's Financial Inclusion Data Partnership — Alliance for Financial Inclusion, EBRD, Financial Alliance for Women, IFC, IMF, World Bank, UN Capital Development Fund, IDB, OECD, CGAP, AFIcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Women's Financial Inclusion Data Partnership, led by Data2X with technical guidance from the Financial Alliance for Women, involves a consortium of partners including Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), International Finance Corporation (IFC), International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank Group, UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), OECD, and CGAP. Current partners also include BNY Mellon. Pilot projects are underway in Bangladesh, Honduras, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Türkiye.
• PARIS21coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPARIS21 serves as the secretariat of the Gender Data Network. Data2X and PARIS21 collaborate on tracking gender data commitments, building political will for gender data (in 30 countries), and supporting data use in national policy documents.
• UN WomencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUN Women is a key strategic partner of Data2X, collaborating on global gender data norms, SDG 5 monitoring, and the Gender Data Outlook (co-published with PARIS21). Data2X's work on gender data use is informed by UN Women's frameworks and data.
• GROOTS KenyasecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerGROOTS Kenya partnered with Data2X and the Local Development Research Institute (LDRI) over three years to strengthen the use and uptake of gender data in policymaking across Kenya. This partnership supported evidence-based decision-making and advanced gender-responsive budgeting at the subnational level, with documented advocacy wins.
• Local Development Research Institute (LDRI)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerLDRI partnered with Data2X and GROOTS Kenya to strengthen gender data use in Kenyan policymaking, producing impact case studies documenting budget advocacy efforts and tangible outcomes at the subnational level.
• UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNECA is a core partner in the Gender Data Network, collaborating with Data2X, the African Center for Statistics, Open Data Watch, and PARIS21 to build national statistical capacity for gender data in 15 African countries.
• Global Partnership for Sustainable Development DatasecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a Data2X partner, the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data collaborates on advancing open data for sustainable development, aligning with Data2X's gender data objectives.
• Equal Measures 2030secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerEqual Measures 2030 is a partner of Data2X, collaborating on the SDG Gender Index and supporting journalists on gender data reporting through the Fellowship for Data Journalists (with the Tableau Foundation) launched at the Reykjavik Global Forum for Women Leaders.
• GSMAsecondaryTechnology or IntegrationGSMA, the global association of mobile operators, is listed as a Data2X partner. GSMA's mobile data and connectivity insights potentially contribute to Data2X's big data work exploring digital data to fill gender data gaps.
• African Development BanksecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe African Development Bank is listed as a Data2X partner, contributing to gender data financing and development data initiatives in Africa.
• Aapti InstitutesecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerAapti Institute collaborated with Data2X and Open Data Manchester to produce the 'How To Build a Data Cooperative: A Practitioner's Handbook,' exploring data cooperative models as a mechanism to rebalance power in the data economy and support women's empowerment.
• International Monetary Fund (IMF)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMF is listed as a Data2X partner, involved in the Women's Financial Inclusion Data Partnership and broader gender data work in financial inclusion.
• World BankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe World Bank is a key Data2X partner, involved in gender data financing, the Women's Financial Inclusion Data Partnership, and broader gender equality data initiatives. The World Bank's Statistical Performance Indicators (SPI) include a data use pillar relevant to Data2X's advocacy work.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Open Data Watch: Open Data Watch is the parent organization that absorbed Data2X in May 2026. ODW works at the intersection of open data and official statistics and is the closest direct peer given shared frameworks, BRIDGE tool co-development, and now structural integration.
• PARIS21: PARIS21 serves as the secretariat of Data2X's Gender Data Network and co-publishes the Gender Data Outlook. It focuses on national statistical capacity building in low- and middle-income countries, making it a direct peer in gender data advocacy and country-level statistical strengthening.
• Equal Measures 2030: Equal Measures 2030 is a Data2X partner that produces the SDG Gender Index and supports journalists on gender data reporting. It addresses overlapping themes of gender data, SDG monitoring, and advocacy, directly comparable to Data2X's mission.
• Data.org: Data.org is a philanthropic platform focused on building the field of data for social impact, including capacity building and inclusive data. It overlaps with Data2X on data capacity building, gender data, and convening funders around data-driven social impact.
• Center for Global Development: CGD co-launched the Women's Economic Empowerment Measurement Learning Collaborative with Data2X in May 2021. As a leading global development think tank producing research on gender data quality, WEE measurement, and policy, CGD is a direct peer in gender data research and convening.
• International Open Data Charter: The International Open Data Charter advances government adoption of open data principles and overlaps with Data2X's data governance and inclusive data work. Both organizations convene governments around data quality and accessibility standards.
• Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data: GPSDD is a listed Data2X partner and multi-stakeholder network focused on advancing open data for sustainable development. It operates as a convening platform analogous to Data2X, working on data ecosystems for SDGs including gender equality.

Broad incumbents

• UN Statistics Division: The UN Statistics Division sets international statistical standards and methodologies that intersect with Data2X's gender data frameworks. It is a broader incumbent whose work on official statistics and SDG indicators directly overlaps with Data2X's mission.
• UN Women: UN Women is a core strategic partner of Data2X and the leading UN entity on gender equality. It operates much more broadly (policy, programming, advocacy) but overlaps with Data2X on SDG 5 monitoring, gender data norms, and global gender data frameworks.
• World Bank Gender Data Portal: The World Bank Gender Data Portal hosts global gender statistics and is a core Data2X partner. It is a broader incumbent in gender data infrastructure, with deeper resources but narrower advocacy focus compared to Data2X.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/data2x
• Xx.com/Data2X
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/data2x

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Data2X, United Nations Foundation