Most of the Developing countries have also embraced gender budgeting, often tailoring approaches to their specific economic and political contexts
Pradeep Biswal
Gender Budgeting is not a budget per se. It’s an innovative approach to public finance, which evolved significantly since its inception in Australia in the late eighties. It is no longer about creating separate budgets for women, but rather about analyzing government budgets through a gender perspective to ensure that resource allocation and public policies address and mitigate gender-based disparities, promoting true equality and women’s empowerment. Its adoption has grown globally, particularly in OECD countries and an increasing number of developing nations. Even in Odisha, it was adopted in the year 2004-05 as the first state to do so and it is still continuing as a part of the making process.
Presently, gender budgeting is seen as a vital tool for achieving broader development goals, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). More than 90 nations worldwide, including a substantial number in Asia, have adopted some form of gender budgeting or a similar approach. This widespread adoption shows a growing recognition that gender equality is not just a matter of social justice but also an economic imperative, leading to more inclusive and sustainable growth.
In developed nations, the practice has intensified, with 61% of OECD countries now incorporating gender budgeting into their policy frameworks. This represents nearly a doubling in recent years, demonstrating a strong commitment to integrating gender considerations into budget decision-making. Common tools include ex-ante gender impact assessments and the application of gender perspectives in performance frameworks, with a significant emphasis on transparency through the publication of gender budgeting evidence in annual budget documents. It’s brought out along with the annual budget or thereafter as a routine and reflects the commitment of the government to bring gender equality and social justice into the public domain.
Most of the Developing countries have also embraced gender budgeting, often tailoring approaches to their specific economic and political contexts. Efforts range from fiscal policy changes encompassing budgetary allocations to administrative adjustments in expenditure tracking and monitoring systems.
In the context of India, for instance, it has demonstrated a consistent rise in its gender budget allocation, reaching its highest ever in FY 2025-26 at ₹4.49 lakh crore (almost 8.86% of the total Union Budget). This reflects an increased focus on women’s economic empowerment, skill development, and financial inclusion, with a broader integration across various ministries.
Gender Budget when implemented properly and effectively, it has shown promising results in advancing gender equality outcomes, particularly in health and education. By making explicit how public resources are allocated and spent, it fosters greater transparency and accountability in government. Case studies, such as Morocco’s Centre of Excellence for Gender Responsive Budgeting, illustrate how it can inform public policies, leading to concrete actions like the embedding of gender equality in educational curricula and prioritizing the prevention of violence against women. Colombia’s mandated gender budget tracker further exemplifies how legal frameworks can strengthen accountability.
The increasing female labor force participation rates in countries like India, partly attributed to government initiatives and schemes often supported by gender budgeting, also point to its potential for economic empowerment. By directing funds towards programs that enhance women’s skills, provide employment opportunities, and facilitate access to finance, gender budgeting aims to ensure that women receive equitable benefits from economic growth.
Despite these developments, the efficacy of gender budgeting faces several critical challenges. Tokenism vs. Systemic Change is one such. A primary criticism is that gender budgeting can sometimes remain a symbolic gesture rather than leading to substantive structural reforms. While allocations may increase, the underlying systemic issues perpetuating gender inequality might not be fully addressed. This requires political leadership to realize the importance of gender budgeting and utilize it as a tool in public policy issues.
Data Gaps are another grey area. A significant barrier to effective gender budgeting is the lack of comprehensive and disaggregated gender-specific data. Without accurate data on the needs and impacts of policies on different genders, it is difficult to formulate effective strategies and assess their outcomes. This also hinders the ability to track the reduction in gender-based disparities effectively.
Concentration of Funds and Sectoral Focus is the next challenge. In many countries, a large proportion of gender budget allocations tends to be concentrated in a few key ministries or specific welfare-oriented schemes, often neglecting “gender-neutral” sectors like infrastructure, transport, and rural development, where gendered impacts can be substantial. This limits the transformative potential of gender budgeting across the entire government framework.
Implementation Gaps and Capacity Issues too have to be looked after. Even with increased allocations, the actual utilization and impact can be hampered by weak implementation mechanisms, insufficient capacity and expertise in gender analysis within government institutions, and a lack of sustained political commitment at all levels of governance (national, subnational, and local).
Fiscal Allocations and Outcome Tracking becomes the next challenge. While budgets may earmark funds for women, there’s often a challenge in linking these allocations directly to tangible outcomes and reductions in gender disparities. The absence of robust outcome-based monitoring and evaluation frameworks makes it difficult to assess the true impact of gender budgeting.
As to Intersectionality, critics argue that a sole focus on gender might oversimplify complex inequalities, neglecting the intersecting disadvantages faced by women based on caste, class, ethnicity, disability, and other factors. Gender budgeting needs to evolve to embrace an intersectional approach.
What is the way forward? In order to truly realize the transformative potential of gender budgeting, several key areas are to be taken care of like Integration Across All Ministries/ Departments. Gender budgeting must move beyond specific “women’s welfare” ministries and be integrated across all government departments, including those traditionally seen as gender-neutral.
Strengthening Data Infrastructure has to be looked into. Investing in the collection and analysis of comprehensive, gender-disaggregated data is paramount for evidence-based policymaking and effective tracking of outcomes. It is a serious problem in India and many other countries.
Capacity Building comes next. Continuous training and capacity development for policymakers and government officials are necessary to enhance their understanding of gender analysis and its application in budgetary processes. Very few of those involved in policy decisions have the ability and knowledge to understand the nuances of gender budgeting.
Robust Monitoring and Evaluation too is important. Implementing strong outcome-based monitoring and evaluation frameworks, including both quantitative and qualitative metrics, is crucial to assess the real impact of gender budgeting on reducing disparities and improving women’s lives.
Political Will and Accountability is all the more important. Sustained political commitment and leadership are vital for ensuring that gender budgeting is not merely a technical exercise but a powerful tool for driving genuine social and economic transformation.
The inclusion of Intersectionality is also critical. Future gender budgeting efforts should explicitly consider the diverse experiences of women and adopt an intersectional lens to address the unique challenges faced by marginalized groups of women. Mainstreaming them is a fundamental challenge.
It must be mentioned that while gender budgeting has gained significant momentum worldwide, its actual effectiveness hinges on overcoming persistent challenges related to data, implementation, and holistic integration across governance systems. By focusing on these critical areas, gender budgeting can move beyond symbolic gestures to become a truly transformative force for achieving comprehensive gender equality and inclusive development.
(Pradeep Biswal, retired IAS Officer, is a bilingual poet writing both in Odia and English. His poems are widely anthologized. He is also an editor and translator of repute. Views are Personal)
