Different Sections

National budgets are at the heart of the macroeconomic policy. International initiatives scrutinize national budgets with respect to gender, poverty or environment effects. The pioneer in the gender analysis and budgets was the government of Australia. Currently, in South Africa, Sri Lanka and Barbados.

Gender-Sensitive Budget Initiatives have been developed inside government, with the support of the Commonwealth Secretariat, to review and analyze aspects of national budgets, particularly expenditures, to determine whether there are biases against women.

There are initiatives in South Africa, Switzerland, U.K., Zimbabwe and Tanzania organized by NGO’s, sometimes in cooperation with parliamentarians, with the aim of making fiscal policy responsive to the needs of women.

Other budget initiatives have focused on the analysis of budgets from a poverty perspective or environmental perspective. While most budget initiatives have focused exclusively on gender equity, poverty or environmental concerns, others have tried to combine two or all of these concerns recognizing the inter-linkages between poverty, gender inequality and environmental degradation.

Following questions have to be answered: what are the tools and techniques used for analyses of budgets? what are the trade-offs involved in the budgeting exercises under consideration? who are the actors who pursue them? what is the level of participation by civil society in budget exercises? what are the lessons learned and what are the analytical gaps that need to be addressed?

Budlender, D , R. Sharp & K. Allen (1998) "How to do a Gender-Sensitive Budget Analysis: Contemporary Research and Practice" (Canberra : Australian Agency for International Development, and London Commonwealth Secretariat)

Reeves, Hazel & Heike Wach (1999) "Women and Gender Budgets: An Annotated Resource List" BRIDGE Bibliography No.9 (Brighton : Bridge, IDS)

Elson, D. and N. Cagatay (1999) Engendering Macroeconomic Policy and Budgets for Sustainable Human Development (New York: Human Development Report Office, United Nations Development Programme)

Demery, Lionel (1996) "Gender and Public Social Spending: Disaggregating Benefit Incidence" Poverty and Social Policy Department Discussion Paper (Washington DC: World Bank)

Sharp , Rhonda and Ray Broomhill (2002) "Budgeting For Equality: The Australian Experience" Feminist Economics ,vol.8 , no.1

Budlender, Debbie , Diane Elson, Guy Hewitt and Tanni Mukhopadhyay (2002) "Gender Budgets Make Cents : Understanding gender responsive budgets" (London: Commonwealth Secretariat)