Dimension: 5.1.4 Gender-responsive budgeting
This dimension concerns gender-responsive budgeting, which involves the integration of a gender perspective into parliament’s scrutiny and adoption of the national budget.
Gender-responsive budgeting is a practice adopted by many parliaments around the world, allowing for an understanding of how and to what extent a given policy affects men and women. In many countries, the executive includes this type of analysis in the draft budget in the form of a gender budget statement. In this way, parliament can question budget priorities and scrutinize the extent to which the executive is developing policies that promote gender equality, and can influence policymaking from the outset in the planning phase.
Many parliaments have a dedicated body or bodies responsible for supporting and monitoring gender-responsive budgeting across parliament, such as a parliamentary committee or subcommittee, caucus or network. Portfolio committees may also conduct a sectoral review of the budget from a gender perspective.
The extent to which parliaments can adopt gender-responsive budgeting practices depends on a number of contextual factors, such as the legal framework, parliament’s mandate with respect to the budget process, and the available time, capacity and resources.
Aspiring goal
Assess your parliament against this dimension
Assessment criteria
No 1: Gender budget statement
The legal framework requires the executive to produce a gender budget statement to accompany the draft budget.
No 2: Dedicated body
Parliament has a dedicated body or bodies responsible for supporting gender-responsive budgeting, which have established procedures and authority to obtain supplementary information from the executive.
No 3: Resources
Parliament has sufficient research and analysis capacity to support gender-responsive budgeting. MPs have access to training on gender-responsive budgeting and to information needed to support their work.
How to complete this assessment
This dimension is assessed against several criteria, each of which should be evaluated separately. For each criterion, select one of the six descriptive grades (Non-existent, Rudimentary, Basic, Good, Very good and Excellent) that best reflects the situation in your parliament, and provide details of the evidence on which this assessment is based.
The evidence for assessment of this dimension could include the following:
- Provisions of parliament’s rules of procedure establishing bodies to support gender-responsive budgeting, such as a gender equality committee or subcommittee
- Provisions of parliament’s rules of procedure providing opportunities for members of the public and other groups and organizations to engage in the budget process
- Terms of reference of parliamentary committees or subcommittees indicating their responsibilities for gender-responsive budgeting
- Sex-disaggregated data from the parliamentary administration and/or from national statistical institutes
- Details of training provided for MPs on gender-responsive budgeting, including training materials or reports from the parliamentary administration or external sources of expertise
- Formal records of standard operating procedures for gender-responsive budgeting in parliament
Where relevant, provide additional comments or examples that support the assessment.
Sources and further reading
- Elisabete Azevedo-Harman and Ricardo Godinho Gomes, Post-Legislative Scrutiny of the Law Law A body of rules of action or conduct prescribed by a controlling authority (usually passed by parliament), which has a binding legal force and must be obeyed and followed by citizens, subject to sanctions or legal consequences. Also, the whole body of binding customs, practices or rules of a community prescribed or formally recognized and enforced by a controlling authority. See also: Act of parliament, Bill, Law-making Law-making The legislative process or the act of legislating, i.e. the process by which laws are made. See also: Act of parliament, Law and Legislation Legislation A law or a set of laws that have been passed by parliament. The word is also used to describe the act of making a new law. See also: Act of parliament, Law and Law-making. . and Legislation Legislation A law or a set of laws that have been passed by parliament. The word is also used to describe the act of making a new law. See also: Act of parliament, Law and Law-making. . against Gender-Based Violence: The Successful Story of the Cabo Verde Parliament Parliament A national body of elected (or sometimes appointed) representatives that makes laws, debates issues and holds the government to account. (2019).
- Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), Manual for Training on Gender Responsive Budgeting (2006).
- International Monetary Fund (IMF), Europe: A Survey of Gender Budgeting Efforts (2016).
- Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and others, Parliament Parliament A national body of elected (or sometimes appointed) representatives that makes laws, debates issues and holds the government to account. , the Budget Budget A plan typically prepared by the executive and placed before parliament each year (depending on national statute) showing what money the government expects to receive (revenue) and how the government proposes to spend it (expenditure). and Gender: Handbook for Parliamentarians No. 6 (2004).
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Gender Budgeting in OECD countries (2017).
- UN Women, Gender-Responsive Budgeting: Analysis of Budget Budget A plan typically prepared by the executive and placed before parliament each year (depending on national statute) showing what money the government expects to receive (revenue) and how the government proposes to spend it (expenditure). Programmes from Gender Perspective (2016).
Get help with this assessment
The assessment of indicators involves diagnosing and considering strengths and weaknesses, i.e. the things parliament is doing well, and the things it could do better or more effectively, taking into account established good practices that are described in the indicators.
Read the assessment guidance to find out what to consider when conducting an assessment against the Indicators. Find out how to prepare, how to set the objectives of the assessment, how to organize the process, and more. Contact the project partners for expert advice.
URL copied to clipboard