1. Gender-responsive Budgeting and Decentralization
Public Finance, Decentralization and
Poverty Reduction Program,
World Bank Institute
April 3, 2002
Welcome everyone
Want to thank everyone for there interest in this workshop on gender-responsive budgeting and decentralization
Introduce myself and speakers
Purpose of this workshop:
a) discussion of GRB frameworks, their importance, their utilization in various regions of the world (mostly at national level) and critical analysis of their application
Discussion to further facilitate conceptualization of GRB in the context of political, fiscal and administrative decentralization
Before passing the floor over to our two guest speakers, I would like to take just a few minutes to provide a short background to this discussion

2. Gender-responsive Budgeting and Decentralization
Key Issues:
Development policy being shaped by both globalization AND localization
Millennium goals - public finance implications
Anti-poverty development paradigm
There are three significant development trends that highlight the need for a more extensive analysis of gender –responsive budgeting processes in the context of decentralization
Firstly development policy is being shaped by both globalization and localization (which is the desire fro self-determination and devolution of power to sub national units of government)
The world Development report, “Entering the 21st Century highlights that 95 percent of democracies now have elected sub-national governments, and many countries are devolving political, fiscal and administrative powers to sub-national tiers of government.
Many different forms/designs of decentralized systems, however, one key goal is the intergovernmental restructuring of public sector in a manner that recognizes a well-designed fiscal system. (to support not only efficiency in the delivery of public services, but also to achieve broader goals of macroeconomic stability, building and maintaining social safety nets, framework for investment climate to support sustainable economic growth)
However, above public sector reform/decentralization processes are intermediatary mechanisms to ultimately support Millennium Development goals, two of these being the elimination of extreme poverty and promoting gender-equality and empowering women. The address of Millennium Development goals and the anti-poverty development paradigm has influenced thinking about new public financial arrangements, both having substantial implications for intergovernmental public finance systems

3. Gender-responsive Budgeting and Decentralization
Questions:
Does decentralization increase or decrease gender equalities?
What are the impacts of decentralization of services, of expenditure assignments and of revenue mobilization mechanisms on access to productive resources, opportunities for women and poverty status?
-Within this context of localization/decentralization, the push towards Millennium Development Goals of gender equality and poverty reduction, and the anti-poverty development paradigm, a number of questions arise that need to be asked:
Does decentralization increase or decrease gender equalities?
More specifically, what are the impacts of decentralization of services, of expenditure assignments and of revenue mobilization mechanisms on access to productive resources, opportunities for women and poverty status?

4. Gender-responsive Budgeting and Decentralization
Questions:
What types of institutional structures can best facilitate both women’s and men’s participation in budget formulation and in designing macroeconomic strategies?
What types of budgetary systems and methods can assist in addressing the needs of the vulnerable and poor?
Questions (Cont)
What types of institutional structures can best facilitate both women’s and men’s participation in budget formulation and in designing macroeconomic strategies?
What types of budgetary systems and methods can assist in addressing the needs of the vulnerable and poor?
Gender-responsive approaches to budgeting have been evolving over the past decade, and have been adopted by many national governments (and increasingly by sub-national governments). This will be discussed in more detail by Simel.(Handout D. Budlender’s article on “Global Assessment of Gender Responsive Budget Initiatives)
Mark – will discuss in more detail, the importance of considering gender in the context of public finance and budgetary processes
Simel –