Guidance sheet on ‘How can aid be gender responsive in the context of the new aid modalities? Lessons from gender responsive budgeting initiatives’

The principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (PD) (2005) demonstrate a global commitment to reform aid management modalities, and improve the quality of aid so that it contributes to the achievement of collectively agreed development goals, such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In this context, gender equality advocates, human rights activists, and environmental groups have demanded increased action to ensure that aid reform translates into rights-based, sustainable, and equitable development.

To compliment these efforts, UNIFEM conducted research in ten countries examining the experiences of using gender responsive budgeting (GRB) tools and strategies in the context of GBS and SWAPs. This research was carried out as part of an EC-supported programme ‘Integrating gender responsive budgeting into the aid effectiveness agenda'.

The country assessments aimed to develop a deeper understanding of aid management processes focusing specifically on the EC's and selected donor practices. The assessments examined lessons learnt from the engagement of GRB initiatives in national planning and budgeting processes, and how these efforts contributed to the promotion of gender equality.

This brief is one of the five knowledge briefs produced by UNIFEM in 2010 under the EC/UNIFEM programme ‘Integrating Gender Responsive Budgeting into the Aid Effectiveness Agenda'. The briefs are available in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.