Engendering Budgets
A Practitioners' Guide to Understanding and Implementing Gender-responsive Budgets
This guide, written by a practitioner and a veteran of international institutionalism, provides background information on gender-responsive budgets including: a definition, a description of what these initiatives entail, and a map showing the countries where work has taken place to date with examples of the diversity of experiences. It also provides the different rationales for undertaking the exercises.
Gender advocates and policy-makers will find the treatment of practical issues involved in implementation invaluable, such as the discussion on situation analysis, identifying key stakeholders and their potential roles, as well as issues affecting the sustainability of these initiatives to be invaluable. Case studies are also included with suggestions on how to access resources.
The guide is not to be read as a blueprint for implementing a gender-responsive budget. Rather, the publication aims to provide practitioners, politicians and policy communities with the basic information needed to understand gender-responsive budgets and to start initiatives based on their own local situations. Engendering Budgets is part of the Commonwealth's contribution to the global goal of gender equality, and it is hoped that it will prove useful to those already involved in or considering work on gender-responsive budgets.
Contents
Abbreviations
Foreword
Introduction
1. Getting Started
What are Gender-responsive Budgets?
Defining the work
Country examples: Australia and South Africa
Why Gender-responsive Budgets?
Responding to gender disadvantage
Engendering economic policy
Integrating the care sector
Addressing poverty and social need
Supporting gender mainstreaming
Strengthening governance
Monitoring and evaluating government spending
2. Understanding the Context
What is a Government Budget?
Crucial economic functions of the budget
Medium-term expenditure frameworks
Understanding the Budget Process
Determining the macroeconomic situation
Preparing budget guidelines and setting expenditure ceilings
Preparing sector ministry spending proposals
Securing legislative approval
Monitoring, evaluation and accountability
3. Implementing a Gender-responsive Budget
Learning about the Situation in a Particular Country
Issues Affecting the Sustainability of Gender Budget Work
Who Could be Involved in a GRB Initiative?
Civil society
Government
External agencies
Determining the Focus of the Initiative
Working at the Sub-national Level
Accessing Resources
4. Applying the Analytical Framework
The Three-way Categorisation
1. Gender-specific expenditure allocations
2. Equal employment opportunities in the public sector
3. General expenditure allocations
The Five-step approach
1. Analysing the situation of women, men, girls and boys
2. Assessing the gender-responsiveness of policies
3. Assessing budget allocations
4. Monitoring spending and service delivery
5. Assessing outcomes
Analysing Revenue-raising Measures
Conclusion
Bibliography
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