MINOR PROJECT REPORT

ON

Gender Budgeting: A tool for Empowering Women

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement
For the award of the degree of

Master of Business Administration

Semester-II (Paper Code-MS 114)
To
Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi

Guide: Submitted by:

Ms. Saguna Khajuria Tanu Jindal
Designation: 03113703922

Institute of Information Technology & Management,

New Delhi-110058
2022-2024

1
Certificate

I, Mr./Ms. TANU JINDAL, Roll No. 03113703922 certify that the Minor Project (Paper Code MS-114)
entitled “Gender Budgeting: A tool for Empowering Women” is completed by me by collecting the
material from the referenced sources. The matter embodied in this has not been submitted earlier for the
award of any degree or diploma to the best of my knowledge and belief.
Signature of the Student

Date:

Certified that the Minor Project (Paper Code MS-114) entitled “Gender Budgeting: A tool
for Empowering Women” done by Mr./Ms. Roll No. 03113703922 is completed under my
guidance.
Signature of the Guide:

Name of the Guide:

Ms. Saguna Khajuria Designation:
Date:

Countersigned
Director/Project Coordinator

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I want to thank and show my appreciation to everyone who made it possible for me to finish this report.
I would especially want to thank my supervisor, Ms. Saguna Khajuria, for her support throughout the
fabrication process and for encouraging me to write this report.

I also want to express my gratitude for the effort spent proofreading and fixing all of my errors. Many thanks
go out to the entire lecturer and supervisor team who gave their all to help the team reach the objective and to
urge us to keep moving forward.
My sincere gratitude goes out to everyone of my students, but especially to my friends for devoting time to
supporting me when I needed it during inventing.

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ABSTRACT

Gender budgeting is a well-known method of empowering women. Empowering women is essential for both the
process of a community's development and for economic progress. Gender equality must be ensured in the
development process in reality.

The disparity between men and women may be closed through gender budgeting, which empowers women. It
directly encourages the advancement of women by allocating budgetary monies for women's programmes or
restricts prospects for women's emancipation by making budgetary cuts.

Australia, South Africa, and the Philippines were the first industrialised and developing nations to create gender
budgets. Since the Eight Plan, India has also made efforts to budget for gender. This essay is a modest attempt to
assess the value of gender budgeting as a strategy for empowering women in India.

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CONTENTS

S No Topic Page
No
1 Certificate 2
2 Acknowledgement 3
3 Abstract 4
3 List of Tables 6
4 List of Figures 7
5 List of Symbols 8
6 List of Abbreviations 9
7 Executive Summary 10
8 Body of the Report 12
9 References/Bibliography
10 Appendices

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LIST OF TABLES

Figure No Title Page No

1 WOMEN EMPOWERMENT 11
2 Evolution Of Gender Budgeting in India 15
3 QUANTUM OF THE GENDER BUDGET 15
4 GENDER BUDGET AS % OF GDP 16
5 OVERALL BUDGET 17
6 GENDER BUDGET COMPOSITION 18
7 SCHEMES 19
8 UNION BUDGET STATEMENT 20
9 BUDGET 2021 21
10 BUDGET COMPOSITION 22
11 OECD 26

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure No Title Page No

1 WOMEN EMPOWERMENT 11
2 Evolution Of Gender Budgeting in India 15
3 QUANTUM OF THE GENDER BUDGET 15
4 GENDER BUDGET AS % OF GDP 16
5 OVERALL BUDGET 17
6 GENDER BUDGET COMPOSITION 18
7 SCHEMES 19
8 UNION BUDGET STATEMENT 20
9 BUDGET 2021 21
10 BUDGET COMPOSITION 22
11 OECD 26

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LIST OF SYMBOLS

S No Symbol Nomenclature & meaning

1 . Full Stop
2 , Comma
3 % Percentage
4 ( Bracket
5 “” Collan

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

S No Abbreviated Name Full Name

1 MWCD The Ministry of Women and Child Development
2 GBS Gender Budget Statement
3 WCD women and child development
4 MGNREGS Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Scheme

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Executive Summary

Gender budgeting is an effective tool for promoting gender equality and empowering women by integrating a
gender perspective into the budgetary process. This executive summary provides an overview of the concept and
highlights the key benefits and strategies of gender budgeting.

1. Introduction:
Gender budgeting is a transformative approach that recognizes the gender-specific needs and priorities of women
and seeks to address gender inequalities through budget allocation and expenditure. It involves analysing
government budgets from a gender lens to ensure equitable distribution of resources and opportunities.

2. Benefits of Gender Budgeting:

Gender budgeting offers numerous benefits for society, including:
- Enhancing gender equality: By focusing on gender-specific needs, gender budgeting contributes to bridging
gender gaps in education, healthcare, employment, and other sectors.
- Empowering women: Gender budgeting promotes economic empowerment by allocating resources to sectors that
directly benefit women, such as education and skills training, entrepreneurship, and social protection.
- Improved policy outcomes: Integrating a gender perspective into budgetary decisions leads to better-informed
policies and programs, resulting in more effective and sustainable development outcomes.
- Accountability and transparency: Gender budgeting promotes accountability by tracking and monitoring
budgetary allocations and expenditures, ensuring that resources are used efficiently and effectively.
3. Strategies for Gender Budgeting:
Implementing gender budgeting requires the following key strategies:
- Gender-responsive analysis: Conducting comprehensive gender analysis of budgetary policies and expenditures
to identify gaps and inequalities, and inform decision-making.
- Gender-sensitive budget formulation: Integrating gender-specific goals and indicators into the budget formulation
process, ensuring that resources are allocated in a way that addresses gender disparities.
- Gender-responsive budget implementation: Monitoring the implementation of gender-responsive policies and
programs and assessing their impact on women's empowerment and gender equality.
- Capacity building and institutionalization: Developing the capacity of policymakers and budget officials to
undertake gender analysis and integrate gender perspectives into budgetary processes. Institutionalizing gender
budgeting as a regular practice within government systems is crucial for long-term impact.

4. International Best Practices:

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Several countries have successfully implemented gender budgeting, including Australia, Sweden, and South
Africa. Learning from these experiences can provide valuable insights and lessons for other countries seeking to
adopt gender budgeting as a tool for empowering women.

5. Conclusion:
Gender budgeting is a powerful mechanism for promoting gender equality and empowering women. By addressing
gender disparities in budgetary decisions and resource allocation, governments can create more inclusive and
equitable societies. Implementing gender budgeting requires political commitment, institutional support, and
capacity building, but the potential benefits are significant and far-reaching.

In summary, gender budgeting serves as a crucial tool for achieving women's empowerment and advancing gender
equality. By integrating a gender perspective into budgetary processes, governments can allocate resources more
effectively, address gender disparities, and create a more inclusive and equitable society for all.

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CHAPTER-1
INTRODUCTION

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INTRODUCTION

1.1 Gender budgeting is a powerful tool that aims to promote gender equality and women's empowerment by
analyzing how public funds are allocated and spent through a gender lens.

It involves assessing the differential impact of government budgets on women and men, and designing policies
and programs that address gender disparities in resource allocation. By integrating a gender perspective into
budgetary processes, gender budgeting seeks to promote equitable distribution of resources, address gender-based
inequalities, and enhance women's access to opportunities and services.

Gender budgeting recognizes that women face specific challenges and discrimination in various aspects of life,
such as education, healthcare, employment, and political participation. By considering these gender disparities in
budgetary decisions, governments can allocate resources more effectively and equitably, ensuring that women's
needs are adequately addressed.

The implementation of gender budgeting involves conducting gender analysis, which examines the differential
impact of budgetary decisions on women and men. This analysis helps identify gender biases, gaps, and
inequalities in resource allocation, enabling policymakers to make informed decisions to promote gender equality
and women's empowerment.

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Table no.1: WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

Fig no. 1

1.2 Gender budgeting also fosters transparency and accountability in budget processes by making visible the
gender dimensions of public finance. It encourages the participation of women and civil society organizations in
decision-making and budget formulation, ensuring that women's voices and perspectives are heard.

Gender budgeting is an innovative approach that aims to promote gender equality and women's empowerment by
integrating a gender perspective into budgetary processes. It recognizes that government budgets are not gender-
neutral and can have differential impacts on women and men. Gender budgeting analyzes how public funds are
allocated, spent, and monitored, with a focus on identifying and addressing gender disparities in resource
allocation.

The primary objective of gender budgeting is to ensure that budgetary decisions and policies are gender-
responsive, meaning they consider the specific needs, priorities, and experiences of women and men. By
examining budget allocations through a gender lens, gender budgeting seeks to rectify gender-based inequalities
and promote equitable distribution of resources.

The process of gender budgeting involves various stages. It starts with gender analysis, which assesses how
budgetary decisions impact women and men differently. This analysis helps identify gender biases, gaps, and
opportunities within the budget. Based on these findings, gender-responsive policies and programs are formulated,
aimed at addressing gender disparities and promoting women's empowerment.

1.3 Gender budgeting also emphasizes the importance of monitoring and evaluation. It involves tracking the
implementation and impact of gender-responsive budgetary measures, ensuring accountability and transparency.

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Regular assessments enable policymakers to measure progress, make necessary adjustments, and inform future
budgetary decisions.

The rationale behind gender budgeting lies in the recognition that gender inequalities persist in societies
worldwide. Women often face discrimination and unequal access to resources, opportunities, and services. Gender
budgeting provides a systematic framework to address these inequalities by integrating a gender perspective into
the budgeting process.

By implementing gender budgeting, governments can advance women's empowerment, enhance gender equality,
and foster inclusive and sustainable development. It encourages the allocation of resources towards gender-
responsive policies, such as improving access to education, healthcare, and social protection for women,
promoting women's entrepreneurship and leadership, and addressing gender-based violence.

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In summary, gender budgeting is a powerful tool that helps governments analyze and address gender disparities in
budgetary decisions. By ensuring a gender-responsive approach to resource allocation, gender budgeting
contributes to the broader goal of empowering women, promoting gender equality, and creating more inclusive
and equitable societies.

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CHAPTER-2
Achieving Gender Mainstreaming for Women Empowerment

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Achieving Gender Mainstreaming for Women Empowerment

Gender mainstreaming refers to the integration of a gender perspective into all policies, programs, and activities at
all levels and stages of decision-making. It is essential for achieving women's empowerment and promoting gender
equality in society. Gender budgeting plays a crucial role in gender mainstreaming by ensuring that budgetary
decisions consider the needs and priorities of women, and allocate resources accordingly.

Through gender mainstreaming, gender budgeting helps challenge and transform gender norms and stereotypes,
ultimately empowering women and promoting their full participation in all spheres of life.

Achieving gender mainstreaming is essential for women's empowerment and advancing gender equality in society.
Gender mainstreaming refers to the integration of a gender perspective into all policies, programs, and activities at
all levels and stages of decision-making. Here are some key strategies and approaches to achieve gender
mainstreaming for women's empowerment:

2.1. Policy and Legal Frameworks: Governments need to establish comprehensive policy and legal frameworks
that explicitly promote gender equality and women's empowerment. These frameworks should include provisions
that mandate the integration of a gender perspective in all sectors and areas of governance.

2.2. Gender Analysis: Conducting gender analysis is a critical step in understanding the specific needs, priorities,
and challenges faced by women. This analysis should be applied to policies, programs, and budgetary decisions to
identify gender disparities and inform gender-responsive approaches.
2.3. Capacity Building: Building the capacity of policymakers, civil servants, and other stakeholders is crucial for
effective gender mainstreaming. Training programs should be provided to enhance their understanding of gender
issues, gender-responsive planning, and implementation techniques.

2.4. Gender-Responsive Budgeting: Gender-responsive budgeting integrates a gender perspective into budgetary
processes. It involves analyzing budget allocations to ensure that they address the specific needs and priorities of
women. This approach helps direct resources towards gender-responsive policies and programs, thereby
empowering women.

2.5. Engaging Civil Society: Collaboration with civil society organizations, women's groups, and grassroots
organizations is vital for successful gender mainstreaming. Their expertise, experiences, and perspectives can
contribute to policy development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation processes.

2.6. Data and Research: High-quality, disaggregated data on gender issues is essential for evidence-based decision-
making and effective gender mainstreaming. Governments should invest in data collection systems and research
that capture gender-specific information and indicators to inform policy formulation and evaluation.

2.7. Gender-Responsive Services: Ensuring that public services, such as education, healthcare, and social

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protection, are gender-responsive is crucial for women's empowerment. This involves addressing gender biases,
providing equal access, and tailoring services to meet the specific needs of women and girls.

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2.8. Empowering Women's Participation: Promoting women's meaningful participation and leadership in decision-
making processes is a key aspect of gender mainstreaming. This includes increasing women's representation in
political institutions, corporate boards, and other decision-making bodies.

2.9. Gender-Sensitive Indicators and Monitoring: Developing gender-sensitive indicators and monitoring
mechanisms helps assess the progress and impact of gender mainstreaming initiatives. Regular monitoring and
evaluation allow for adjustments and improvements in strategies and interventions.

2.10. Awareness and Advocacy: Raising awareness about gender equality issues and advocating for gender
mainstreaming is crucial for building public support and driving policy change. Public campaigns, advocacy
initiatives, and media engagement can help promote understanding and acceptance of gender mainstreaming
principles.

By employing these strategies, governments and stakeholders can work towards achieving gender mainstreaming
and empowering women. Gender mainstreaming not only promotes gender equality but also contributes to
sustainable development and a more just and inclusive society for all.

Evolution Of Gender Budgeting in India

Today, India counts among the over 90 countries practicing gender responsive budgeting. India has been
consistently releasing a Gender Budget Statement (GBS) along with its Union Budget since 2005-06, and it has
been recognised as one of the most streamlined and detailed gender-responsive budgeting documents in Asia.

Released a Statement 13 of the Expenditure Profile, it presents the portion of budgetary expenditure earmarked
by Central ministries to alleviate gender-specific barriers across schemes. 

A charter issued in 2007 mandated the formation of gender budget cells across ministries for this kind of
budgeting, and currently these exist across 57 Central ministries and 16 state governments. The Ministry of
Women and Child Development (MWCD) developed a comprehensive Gender Budgeting Handbook in 2015.

Table no.2: Evolution of Gender Budgeting in India

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Fig no. 2

Still At 1% Of India’s GDP

Analysing the FY23 Gender Budget against its 16 predecessors shows that this Budget continued several existing
trends and introduced a few new elements. We enumerate these trends: 

1.In line with the pattern of the last 16 years, it remains below 5% of total expenditure and at 1% of India’s
GDP

The overall size of the Gender Budget grew from Rs 1.66 lakh crore in FY22 to Rs 1.71 lakh crore in FY23, an
increase of only about 3% compared to the 4.6% hike seen in the overall government expenditure. Despite this
increase, the Gender Budget has actually declined as a proportion of the total expenditure – from 4.4% in FY22
to 4.3% in FY23 – and also when compared to the GDP – from 0.72% to 0.66%. An analysis of the data between
2005-06 and 2021-22 reveals that the Gender Budget has hardly ever crossed 5% of total expenditure or 1% of
GDP.

Table no. 3: QUANTUM OF THE GENDER BUDGET

Fig no. 3

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Table no. 4: GENDER BUDGET AS % OF GDP

Fig no. 4

In FY23, allocations to just five ministries comprised 91.3% of the gender budget statement – rural development,
women and child development (WCD), housing and urban affairs, health and family welfare and education. Only
40 of the over 70 central ministries and departments even reported gender budgeting in FY23, as per the GBS.

This trend is not new: between 2005-06 and 2019-20, almost 90% of the Gender Budget was focussed on rural
development, WCD, agriculture, health and education. Since FY22, the increase in allocations for the Prime
Minister Awes Yojana (Urban) resulted in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs superseding the Ministry
of Agriculture in the top five ministries.

With the exception of the MWCD, which delineates 64% of its overall budget as Gender Budget, only 30-40% of
each ministry’s overall expenditure can be counted as gender-centric allocations.

Table no. 5: OVERALL BUDGET

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Fig no. 5

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3.About 80% of the FY23 GBS allocations are clustered into just 10 schemes

The PMAY (Rural and Urban) and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
(MGNREGS) alone form 25.1% and 15.2% of the FY23 GBS. The top 10 schemes constitute almost 80% of the
allocations in FY23, a decline over the last two years – the figure was about 81-83% for FY21-FY22.

Table no. 6: GENDER BUDGET COMPOSITION

Fig no. 6

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4.Allocations in 100% women-focussed schemes have declined 

There are two kinds of allocations in gender budgeting in India: Part A comprises women-specific schemes
(100% allocation for women), and Part B for pro-women schemes (30%-99% allocation for women). While
allocations for the Gender Budget are dominated by schemes in Part B, this skew has worsened in the last five
years with the proportion of schemes in Part A declining from 31% in FY18 to 16% in FY23. 

Major schemes in Part A of the FY23 Gender Budget include the PMAY (Rural), the Samantha scheme
(MWCD’s umbrella programme on women’s welfare) and the Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme.
The Ministry of Rural Development, along with the MWCD, are the highest contributors to women-specific
schemes. Part B of the Gender Budget has a wider distribution, with PMAY (Urban), MGNREGS, Saksham
Anganwadi and Pocan 2.0 and Samara Shiksha being the major schemes. 

Table no. 7: SCHEMES

Fig no. 7

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5. Not responsive to emerging post COVID-19 priorities 

Expenditures on five post-COVID-19 priority areas – social protection, (including income support, food and fuel
transfers), prevention of domestic violence, skill training, public transport and digital literacy – rose to 28.4% of
the Gender Budget 2020-21, but have since declined to 1.5% in FY22 and 1.7% in FY23. 

In FY21, this COVID-19 responsive expenditure principally focused on social protection with direct benefit
transfers of Rs 500 for 200 million PM Jan Dhan Yojana women account-holders and LPG connections through
Ujjwala Yojana. However, with these schemes having been discontinued, the allocation for social protection fell
to about 1% of the GBS in FY22.

The spending on schemes for digital literacy, public transport, prevention of domestic violence and skill training
also remains low. A small allocation of Rs 120 crore was made for rural digital literacy under the PM Gramin
Digital Nakshatra Abhiyan in FY22, which declined by 17% to Rs 100 crore in FY23. The expenditure on public
transport was driven by the sole scheme for Safety of Women on Public Road Transport, whose allocation fell by
86%, from Rs 139.3 crore in FY21 to Rs 20 crore in FY23. However, allocations for the Sambal scheme (for
violence prevention) more than doubled, from Rs 258 crore in FY22 to Rs 562 crore in FY23.

Table no. 8: UNION BUDGET STATEMENT

Fig no. 8
Way Forward

Between 2005-06 and today, India has made significant gains on gender budgeting, and accounting of gender-
related expenditure has improved. The number of ministries reporting gender budgeting has increased from 14 to
40. But this momentum has to be strengthened across ministries, departments, and schemes.

There is a need to enhance efforts for gender empowering programming across schemes. A gender-needs
assessment can be undertaken to identify new policies and schemes to deal with emerging priority areas post
COVID-19. For instance, this could include mainstream digital literacy initiatives for girls and support-targeted

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wages subsidies for employment creation in sectors that employ a large number of women and are still reeling
under the impact of the pandemic. This includes enterprises related to textiles, handlooms, handicrafts, food
processing, retail, hospitality and so on.  

Regular gender audits of centrally sponsored schemes and flagship programmes such as the Amenabar Bharat
Abhiyan can emphasise the importance of reporting and ensuring gender-balanced distribution of scheme
benefits. The collection of gender-disaggregated data should be a standard practice, especially for centrally
sponsored schemes. Further, provisions should be made for the Gender Budget to report progress along outcome
and output indicators, as done in the Union Budget. 

Regular training is crucial to enhance the capacities of gender-based cells. Technical support and additional
capacity building measures should be provided to Central ministries and states that are yet to adopt gender
budgeting. The MWCD can play a leading role in understanding and bridging knowledge gaps by organising
inter-ministerial dialogues to understand the barriers keeping ministries from reporting Gender Budgets.

Finally, NITI Aayog and MWCD can partner to develop a monitoring initiative and web portal so that ministries
can openly observe the quality, results, and impacts of their Gender Budgets.

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CHAPTER-3
Latest Reforms in Women Empowerment and Inclusion

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Latest Reforms in Women Empowerment and Inclusion

3.1 In recent years, there have been several significant reforms aimed at advancing women's empowerment and
inclusion. These reforms have recognized the importance of gender budgeting as a tool for achieving gender
equality. Many countries have started adopting gender-responsive budgeting practices, integrating gender analysis
into their budgetary processes, and establishing specific mechanisms and institutions to support gender budgeting.

Moreover, there has been a growing emphasis on addressing gender-based violence, ensuring equal pay for equal
work, promoting women's entrepreneurship and leadership, and enhancing women's access to education,
healthcare, and social protection.

The barriers to women’s equal participation in the economy and in public life need to be considered in
policymaking and budgeting priorities.

Table no. 9: BUDGET 2021

Fig no. 9

3.1 Since 189 United Nations member states adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action at the Fourth
World Women’s Conference in 1995, the language of ‘gender mainstreaming’ has been adopted by many
countries for shaping their public policy and programme priorities. In India, gender budgeting was enforced
in 2004 with the recommendations of the Ashok Lahiri Committee, and the Ministry of Women and Child
Development (MWCD) has been the principal unit that overlooks the strategic management and execution of
Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB).
This is perhaps the biggest example of gender mainstreaming anywhere in the world where the MWCD builds
capacities, consolidates, and monitors gender investments across almost 60 ministries and government
departments.

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However, as we mark 15 years of GRB in India, we still find only around 5 percent of the public expenditure is
reported for GRB. Also, most of the GRB expenditure is restricted to four ministries: rural development,
education, health and MWCD. Even within the MWCD, more than 90 percent of the budget goes to the Integrated
Child Development Services (ICDS) — less than 10 percent resources are directly allocated for women’s schemes.
Hence, we continue to not only ask questions about how much funding is being provided to gender equality, but
also how much of it is being utilised to bring on-ground change?

3.3 Gender Budgeting

Simply put, gender budgeting is looking at a budget from a gender lens. This does not mean having a separate
budget for women. Rather, it means analysing the impact of a specific policy or programme from the differential
impacts it may have on men and women, and then including these considerations into budgetary operations. For
instance, it is not enough to just construct roads and highways and assume equitable access for all. A case in point
is a recent study by Sakishima at C3 in Bihar which has pointed out the need to invest in urban policy solutions
that integrate gendered mobility indicators to improve women’s public safety and encourage their participation in
economic life.

Table no. 10: BUDGET COMPOSITION

Fig no. 10

There have been several significant reforms and initiatives in recent years aimed at advancing women's

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empowerment and inclusion. Here are some notable examples:

1. Gender Quotas and Representation: Many countries have implemented or strengthened gender quotas to
increase women's representation in political institutions. These quotas aim to ensure a more balanced and inclusive
decision-making process. Additionally, efforts are being made to promote women's participation in leadership
positions in various sectors, including business and academia.
2. Addressing Gender-Based Violence: There is a growing recognition of the need to address gender-based
violence comprehensively. Reforms include enacting and strengthening laws to protect women from violence,
establishing specialized courts and support services, and promoting awareness campaigns to challenge social
norms that perpetuate violence against women.

3. Closing the Gender Pay Gap: Governments and organizations are taking measures to address the gender pay gap
by implementing policies such as pay transparency, equal pay audits, and advocating for fair and non-
discriminatory compensation practices. Efforts are also being made to support women's economic empowerment
and entrepreneurship.

4. Access to Education and Healthcare: Reforms aim to ensure equal access to quality education and healthcare for
women and girls. This includes efforts to eliminate barriers to education, provide scholarships and incentives for
girls' education, and improve healthcare services, particularly in reproductive health and maternal care.

5. Social Protection and Welfare Programs: Governments are implementing social protection programs that
specifically target women's economic and social empowerment. These programs may include cash transfers,
subsidies, and vocational training initiatives to support women in low-income households and vulnerable
situations.

6. Promoting Women's Entrepreneurship: There is a growing focus on fostering women's entrepreneurship and
providing support for women-owned businesses. Reforms include creating favorable business environments,
offering financial assistance, mentorship programs, and access to markets and networks.

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7. Maternity and Parental Leave Policies: Countries are implementing or enhancing maternity and parental leave
policies to support working women in balancing their professional and family responsibilities. These reforms aim
to promote gender equality, encourage men's involvement in caregiving, and provide greater flexibility for
women in the workforce.

8. Technology and Digital Inclusion: Efforts are being made to bridge the digital gender divide by promoting
women's access to and use of digital technologies. Initiatives include providing digital literacy training, improving
access to affordable internet services, and supporting women's participation in the technology sector.

9. Ending Child Marriage and Promoting Girls' Rights: Reforms focus on ending child marriage and promoting
girls' rights and empowerment. Governments and organizations are enacting laws, raising awareness, and
implementing programs to prevent child marriage, provide support for victims, and promote girls' education and
agency.

10. Strengthening Legal Frameworks: Many countries are strengthening legal frameworks to protect women's
rights and ensure gender equality. Reforms may include enacting legislation against gender discrimination, sexual
harassment, and gender-based violence, as well as improving access to justice for women.

These reforms reflect the growing recognition of the importance of women's empowerment and gender equality.
While progress has been made, there is still work to be done to achieve full empowerment and inclusion of women
in all aspects of society. Ongoing efforts and commitment to these reforms are crucial for building more equitable
and inclusive societies.

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CHAPTER-4
Impact and Rationale of Gender Budgeting

33
Impact and Rationale of Gender Budgeting

The impact of gender budgeting is multi-faceted and transformative. By analyzing budgetary allocations, gender
budgeting helps identify and rectify gender-based inequalities, ensuring that women's needs and priorities are
adequately addressed. It enhances the effectiveness and efficiency of public spending by directing resources
towards gender-responsive policies and programs.

Gender budgeting also enables the evaluation of outcomes and impacts of gender-related interventions, leading to
evidence-based policymaking and program implementation. Importantly, it helps build accountability and
transparency in budgetary processes and fosters women's active participation in decision-making, thus
strengthening democratic governance.

The impact of gender budgeting is multi-faceted and can bring about transformative changes in society. Here are
some key impacts and rationales of gender budgeting:

4.1. Promoting Gender Equality: Gender budgeting aims to address gender disparities and promote gender equality
by analyzing budget allocations through a gender lens. It helps identify and rectify gender biases in resource
allocation, ensuring that women's needs and priorities are adequately addressed. By directing resources towards
gender-responsive policies and programs, gender budgeting contributes to reducing gender inequalities and
advancing gender equality.

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2. Enhancing Women's Empowerment: Gender budgeting plays a crucial role in empowering women. By
allocating resources to sectors such as education, healthcare, and economic opportunities that directly impact
women, gender budgeting helps improve their access to critical services and opportunities. This empowerment
enables women to participate fully in social, economic, and political spheres and enhances their decision-making
power and agency.

3. Improving Service Delivery: Gender budgeting enables a better understanding of the specific needs and
challenges faced by women and men. By allocating resources based on this understanding, gender budgeting
ensures that services are tailored to address gender-specific issues. This leads to improved service delivery,
quality, and accessibility, benefiting women and marginalized groups who may have been historically
underserved.

4. Strengthening Accountability and Transparency: Gender budgeting brings transparency and accountability to
budgetary processes. By analyzing budget allocations from a gender perspective and monitoring the
implementation and impact of gender-responsive policies and programs, gender budgeting ensures that resources
are utilized effectively and equitably. It helps identify gaps, track progress, and hold governments accountable for
meeting their gender equality commitments.

5. Promoting Inclusive Development: Gender budgeting contributes to inclusive and sustainable development. By
addressing gender disparities and promoting women's empowerment, it ensures that development efforts benefit all
members of society. This approach recognizes that gender inequalities hinder overall progress and that
empowering women is crucial for achieving inclusive and sustainable development outcomes.

6. Evidence-Based Policy and Decision Making: Gender budgeting relies on data and evidence to inform policy
and decision making. It emphasizes the importance of conducting gender analysis and collecting gender-
disaggregated data to understand the differential impact of budgetary decisions. This evidence-based approach
helps policymakers make informed choices, evaluate the effectiveness of gender-related interventions, and adjust
strategies as needed.

7. Fostering Gender-Responsive Governance: Gender budgeting fosters gender-responsive governance by

integrating a gender perspective into decision-making processes. It encourages the meaningful participation of
women in decision making, ensuring that their voices and perspectives are heard. By promoting inclusive and
participatory governance, gender budgeting strengthens democratic processes and improves the representation and
responsiveness of governance institutions.

Overall, the rationale behind gender budgeting lies in the recognition that budgetary decisions can either
perpetuate or challenge gender inequalities. By incorporating a gender perspective into budgetary processes,
gender budgeting seeks to promote equitable resource allocation, address gender-based disparities, and empower
women. It is a tool for achieving social justice, promoting gender equality, and building more inclusive and
sustainable societies.

OECD Best Practices for Gender Budgeting

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While the uptake of gender budgeting among OECD countries is growing, challenges remain in its
implementation. The OECD best practices for gender budgeting highlight the core features common to successful
implementation of gender budgeting. These best practices identify elements that contribute to the sustainability
of gender budgeting and help governments ensure that the budget helps achieve broader government objectives
relating to gender equality.
The best practices draw on gender budgeting practices in Member countries and the OECD’s work with countries
in designing and implementing gender budgeting.

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Table no. 11: OECD

Fig no. 11

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CHAPTER-5
Conclusion and Recommendation

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Conclusion and Recommendation

In conclusion, gender budgeting is a powerful tool for empowering women and advancing gender equality. By
analyzing budget allocations through a gender lens, gender budgeting helps identify and rectify gender disparities
in resource allocation. It promotes gender equality, enhances women's empowerment, improves service delivery,
and strengthens accountability and transparency in budgetary processes.

Furthermore, gender budgeting contributes to inclusive and sustainable development by addressing gender
inequalities and promoting women's participation in all spheres of life.2

To maximize the effectiveness of gender budgeting, it is recommended to:

5.1. Commitment and Political Will: Governments should demonstrate a strong commitment to gender budgeting
and allocate sufficient resources for its implementation. This commitment should be backed by political will at all
levels of governance.

2. Capacity Building: Invest in capacity building programs to enhance the understanding and skills of
policymakers, budget officials, and civil servants in gender budgeting concepts, methodologies, and
implementation techniques. This will ensure effective integration of a gender perspective into budgetary processes.

3. Institutional Mechanisms: Establish dedicated gender budgeting units or mechanisms within government
structures to oversee the gender budgeting process. These units should have the authority, expertise, and resources
to integrate gender-responsive approaches into budget formulation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.

4. Gender Analysis: Conduct robust gender analysis at all stages of the budgetary process to identify gender biases,
gaps, and opportunities. This analysis should be based on accurate and disaggregated data to inform gender-
responsive policies and programs.

5. Stakeholder Engagement: Engage civil society organizations, women's groups, and other relevant stakeholders
in the gender budgeting process. Collaboration and dialogue with these stakeholders ensure inclusivity,
transparency, and accountability in decision making.

6. Monitoring and Evaluation: Establish mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating the impact of gender
budgeting initiatives. Regular assessment of outcomes and impacts will inform future budgetary decisions, identify
areas for improvement, and provide evidence for policy advocacy.

7. Knowledge Sharing and Learning: Promote knowledge sharing and learning among countries and regions to
exchange best practices, experiences, and lessons learned in gender budgeting. Collaboration and cooperation can
help advance gender budgeting globally and foster innovation in its implementation.

By implementing these recommendations, governments and stakeholders can harness the full potential of gender

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budgeting as a tool for empowering women, advancing gender equality, and creating more inclusive and equitable
societies. Gender budgeting has the power to transform budgetary processes, policies, and outcomes, leading to a
more just and prosperous future for all.

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Biblography

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