Essay by Sara L M Davis: “Data is seductive in global health politics. It seduces donors with the promise of cost-effectiveness in making the right investments in people’s health and of ensuring they get results and performance from the state projects they fund. It seduces advocates of gender equality with its power to make gender differences in health outcomes and burdens visible. The seduction of data is that of the quick or technocratic fix to complex social and political problems. Are women disproportionately impacted by COVID-19? Get better data to find out the extent of the problem. Do you want to save as many lives as possible?…(More)”.