Budgeting for Equity: Gender Budget Initiatives Within a Framework of Performance Oriented Budgeting

If you want to see which way a country is headed, look at the country's budget and how it allocates resources for women and children. Pregs Govender, MP, South Africa

Gender budget analysis looks at how financial resources are allocated with respect to different genders. Since 2001, UNIFEM has been supporting gender budget analysis in more than 20 countries. Budgets matter because they determine how governments mobilize and allocate public resources. They are used to shape policies, set priorities and provide the means to meet the social and economic needs of all citizens. Gender-responsive budget analysis was pioneered in Australia in 1994, with a federal government assessment of the budget impact on women. It refers to the analysis of actual government expenditure and revenue on women and girls as compared to men and boys.

"Budgeting for Equity" discusses the tools needed to determine how a government budget impacts the different sexes. The publication achieves three objectives. First, the background of gender responsive budgets is described for readers who are not as familiar with the initiative. Secondly, it outlines the evolution of performance oriented budgets and provides a description of how the current system work. Thirdly, strategies for achieving greater gender aware outputs are summarized.

"Budgeting for Equity" is an invaluable tool for anyone interested or involved in achieving more equitable resource allocation for women. The information and insights provided will help many countries take the next step in equitable budget planning.