3. Gender Responsive Budgeting
• According to Stephenson (2017) gender responsive budget is a budget
that works for everyone (women and men, boys and girls) by ensuring
gender equitable distribution of resources and by contributing to equal
opportunities for all
• The aim of gender budgeting is to allocate funds so as to improve the
position of women, hence contributing to gender equality
• It also involve analysing the impacts of existing budgets on men and
women, collecting data on the different needs of men and women and
developing targeted policies and programs to address these needs.
4. B. BUDGET IMPACT ON MEN AND WOMEN
Gender responsive budgeting has a number of positive impacts on women and men, some
of them are:
• Increased access to resources and services. GRB can help to increase women’s
access to essential services such as education, healthcare, and economic opportunities.
Reduced poverty and inequality. GRB can help to empower women and girls by
targeting resources to women and other marginalized groups. This can lead to a more
equitable and inclusive society.
• Increased transparency and accountability through greater oversight by
parliament and civil society, accountability is vital to promote gender responsive
policies given the minimal gender related expenditure. Therefore, it provides
parliament with an analysis of gender objective to each budget chapter and awareness.
5. negative impacts on women and men
Unpaid work, women tend to shoulder a significant portion of unpaid
work, such as childcare, household chores, and caregiving for elderly or
sick family members. This can affect their ability to pursue paid
employment or dedicate time to personal and professional development.
Gendered consumption, society often imposes different expectations
on men and women regarding spending habits. Women may face
societal pressure to invest in personal care, beauty products, or fashion,
which can impact their budget differently compared to men.
6. Negatives cont.……
Resistant to behaviour change, implementing gender responsive policies may require
changes in societal and behaviours which can be met with resistance from individuals
and communities. This resistance can hinder the success of such initiatives.
• Marginalisation of other vulnerable groups, focusing primarily on gender issues in
budgeting may un intentionally divert attention and resource away from other vulnerable
or marginalised groups, potentially exacerbating disabilities in society.
7. Conclusion
Gender responsive budgeting has come in to help in bringing parity
between both genders, hence helps in promoting the crucial aspects of
gender equality and equity. GRD, has also proved to have come to raise
women’s status in the modern society.
8. REFERENCES
• Bourdieu, P. (1977). Outline of a theory of practice. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge university press.
• Elson, D. (2006). Budgeting for women's rights: Monitoring government budgets for compliance with
CEDAW. UNIFEM, New York.
• Kabira, M. W. (1994). The ABC of gender analysis. Vancouver, BC.
• Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2018). Gender- responsive budgeting:
A guide for policy makers. OECD, Paris.
• Ridgeway, C. L. (2011). Framed before we know it: How social frames structure thinking, action, and
organization. Oxford University Press.
