Gender Budgeting
Gender budgeting (also known as Gender Responsive Budgeting) has been described as “…an approach to budgeting that uses fiscal policy and administration to promote gender equality, and girls’ and women’s development.” More specifically, gender budgeting initiatives typically aim to: use gender-sensitive analysis to understand female and male citizens’ level of access to public goods and services, and the impact that this access (or lack of access) has on their welfare; adjust expenditure and revenue collection in ways that strengthen gender equality; ensure that adequate financing is provided for the implementation of laws and policies that are intended to promote gender equality. This brief provides an overview of what gender budgeting entails, draws on key learning from international experiences, and contextualizes it to the current reform process and public finance management system in Myanmar. It concludes by highlighting current limitations and sets realistic aims for promoting gender budgeting.
