ITP 1325 March 2012

The Women's Budget Group The Women's Budget Group produces reports and responses providing gender analysis of government policy and advocating specific policies. WBG also produces briefings to inform and advise policy-makers and parliamentarians on our key work areas. A Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England & Wales Number: Registered Office 1-3 Berry Street, London, EC1V 0AA

Gender budgeting exercises Gender budgeting exercises now take place in more than forty countries around the world, originally inspired by the early experience of countries such as Australia and given further momentum by the United Nations' commitment to gender budgeting in the Beijing Platform for Action. They take place both inside and outside government and there is a wide diversity in the ways in which they are conducted and their scope

In the UK Policy-makers and civil society groups in the UK are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of using gender budget analyses to help achieve gender equality and to improve the policy making process. The WBG is working to expand understanding among policy makers and opinion formers of the gender implications of economic policy and the use of gender budget analysis

what is gender budget analysis? A gender budget is not a separate budget for women. It is an approach which can be used to highlight the gap between policy statements and the resources committed to their implementation, ensuring that public money is spent in more gender equitable ways. The issue is not whether we are spending the same on women and men, but whether the spending is adequate to women and men's needs

what is gender budget analysis? more Gender budgets are a tool for testing a government's gender mainstreaming commitments - linking policy commitments across government departments with their budgets. Without a suitable economic underpinning, a government's equality commitments are unlikely to be realised

what is gender budget analysis? more Gender budget initiatives go beyond the assessment of programmes targeted specifically at women and girls, and seek to expose assumptions of 'gender neutrality' within all economic policy - raising awareness and understanding that budgets will impact differently on women and men because of the different social and economic positioning

how to do gender budget analysis? Essentially gender budget analysis works by: Analysing any form of public expenditure, or method of raising public money, from a gender perspective. Identifying the implications and impacts for women and girls as compared to men and boys It should be noted however, that gender budgeting is a relatively new concept. As a result, the tools and techniques used to apply the theory are still evolving. Additionally, its methodology will and should differ internationally, adapting itself to the national or even regional context

how to do gender budget analysis? more Several toolkits for gender budgeting have been developed - most prominently by Debbie Budlender and Ronda Sharp (1998), Diane Elson (1997) and Katherine Rake (2002).Debbie Budlender and Ronda Sharp (1998) Katherine Rake (2002) Gender Impact Analysis (GIA) can provide a useful framework within which to conduct gender budget analysis

how to do gender budget analysis? more GIA considers the impact of policy and spending on individuals rather than the more standard 'household' unit and it encompasses the unpaid as well as the paid sphere of work. GIA assesses policy for its long term impacts and takes into account the different responses men and women have towards economic incentives

how to do gender budget analysis? more why do gender budget analysis? Gender budget analysis can improve the effectiveness, efficiency, accountability and transparency of government policy, as well as making significant contributions towards gender equality and the realisation of women's rights

how to do gender budget analysis? more Expenditure and taxation policies have different implications for, and impacts upon, women and men in terms of their contributions to both the paid and unpaid spheres of work. Gender budget initiatives can reveal these discrepancies and provide governments with the opportunity (in partnership with other actors) to integrate a gender analysis into economic policy. So gender budgeting can benefit society both by reducing socio-economic gender inequalities and by ensuring that public money is better targeted and spent more efficiently, improving policy outcomes

how to do gender budget analysis? more Gender budgeting also brings internal benefits to government. By strengthening the collection and analysis of gender-disagregated data and enhancing the ability to determine the real value of resources targeted towards women and men - gender budget initiatives can provide a better understanding if how resources are being spent and increase the efficiency of policy

how to do gender budget analysis? more Many governments also have made national or international commitments to gender equality and a mainstreaming approach; gender budget analysis can assist governments in meeting these aims

gender budget analysis around the world WBG has connections with both NGOs and intergovernmental organisations that promote a gender budget approach around the world. We try and maintain an up-to-date record of several international gender budgeting initiatives, together with contact details and websites of the organisations involved: International Gender Budgeting Database

Five Steps of Gender Budgeting 1. An analysis of the situation for women and men and girls and boys (and the different sub- groups) in a given sector

Step 2 2. An assessment of the extent to which the sector’s policy addresses the gender issues and gaps described in the first step. This step should include an assessment of the relevant legislation, policies, programs and schemes. It includes an analysis of both the written policy as well as the implicit policy reflected in government activities. It should examine the extent to which the above meet the socio-economic and other rights of women

Step 3 3.An assessment of the adequacy of budget allocations to implement the gender sensitive policies and programs identified in step 2 above

Step 4 4. Monitoring whether the money was spent as planned, what was delivered and to whom? This involves checking both financially and the physical deliverables (disaggregated by sex)

Step 5 5. An assessment of the impact of the policy / program / scheme and the extent to which the situation described in step 1 has been changed, in the direction of greater gender equality

Gender Auditing Gender Auditing is part of the Gender Budgeting process. Gender auditing is the process that is conducted after the budget has been adopted and implemented

Gender Auditing - more It is the process of reviewing financial outlays – looking at trends over time, percentage shares etc; analyzing and assessing systems actually put in place, processes adopted, outcomes and impacts of budgetary outlays vis-à-vis what was planned – all this through a gender lens. The three main components of Gender Budgeting are Policy Appraisal, Gender Budgeting and Gender Auditing