Gender-responsive education sector budget

Presentation on how education budget can be gender responsive

1. Gender-responsive Budgeting IBRAHIM BELLO September, 2023

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS HOW TO DO GENDER BUDGETING UNDERSTANDING KEY TERMS 01 INTRODUCTION TO GENDER RESPONSIVE BUDGETING GENDER BUDGET ANALYSIS TOOLS FOR GENDER BUDGETING THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY 02 03 04 05 06

3. 3 KEY TERMS GENDER GENDER MAINSTREAMING GENDER PERSPECTIVE GENDER ROLES GENDER STEREOTYPE

4. Gender 4 Gender refers to  the characteristics of women, men, girls and boys that are socially constructed . This includes norms, behaviors and roles associated with being a woman, man, girl or boy, as well as relationships with each other. As a social construct, gender varies from society to society and can change over time

5. Gender Mainstreaming 5 Gender mainstreaming is the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programs, in any area and at all levels. It is a strategy for making women's as well as men's concerns and experiences an integral dimension in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programs in all political, economic and social spheres, such that inequality between men and women is not perpetuated.

6. Gender Perspective 6 The vision that permits one to understand and analyze the characteristics that define women and men in specific ways, including their similarities and differences.

7. Gender Roles 7 Gender roles are the social and cultural expectations for how people should behave according to their assigned gender. These roles shape the behaviors, attitudes and responsibilities considered appropriate for men and women

8. Gender Stereotypes 8 Gender stereotypes are beliefs or assumptions about characteristics, traits, behaviors and roles of people based on their gender. These stereotypes are created and reinforced by gender norms and can lead to biased judgments and discrimination against individuals who do not conform to them. Gender stereotypes can be positive and negative, but they tend to fit rigid ideas of masculinity and femininity

9. INTRODUCTION TO GENDER-RESPONSIVE BUDGETING 9

10. GENDER-RESPONSIVE BUDGETING 10 It is a way of linking gender equality policy with macroeconomic policy

11. GENDER-RESPONSIVE BUDGETING 11 It is a way of linking gender equality policy with macroeconomic policy It is based on the premise that budgets are not gender neutral

12. GENDER-RESPONSIVE BUDGETING 12 It is a way of linking gender equality policy with macroeconomic policy It is based on the premise that budgets are not gender neutral It begins with analysis of the impact of the budget on women and men, and progresses to integrate gender into budget-planning

13. GENDER-RESPONSIVE BUDGETING 13 It is a way of linking gender equality policy with macroeconomic policy It is based on the premise that budgets are not gender neutral It begins with analysis of the impact of the budget on women and men, and progresses to integrate gender into budget-planning It does not mean a separate budget for women

14. GENDER-RESPONSIVE BUDGETING 14 It is a way of linking gender equality policy with macroeconomic policy It is based on the premise that budgets are not gender neutral It begins with analysis of the impact of the budget on women and men, and progresses to integrate gender into budget-planning It does not mean a separate budget for women It means people-centered budgeting

15. WHAT IS GENDER-RESPONSIVE BUDGETING? 15 A gender-responsive budget is a budget that works for everyone – women men and, girls and boys – by ensuring gender-equitable distribution of resources and by contributing to equal opportunities for all.

16. WHAT IS GENDER-RESPONSIVE BUDGETING? 16 Gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) is essential both for gender justice and for fiscal justice. It involves analyzing government budgets for their effect on different genders and the norms and roles associated with them, and the relationship between genders.

17. WHAT IS GENDER-RESPONSIVE BUDGETING? 17 It also involves actually transforming these budgets to ensure that gender equality commitments are realized by thinking about impacts on people, including women and men, girls and boys

18. How money is raised (for example who contributes more to government revenue through direct or indirect taxes, fees, fines and levies on imports) How money is spent (including spending on public services, social welfare programs or infrastructure such as roads); Whether spending is sufficient to meet the practical and strategic needs of men, women, girls and boys, while at the same time contributing to closing the gender gap; How decisions on raising and spending money are made, and the distribution of these between genders; Whether spending in practice matches budget plans 18 Gender Responsive budget looks at;

19. Gender-responsive budgets can help promote gender equality and close gender gaps. Gender-responsive budgeting recognizes that government budgets impact men and women differently. Policy decisions made by governments can serve to either promote gender equality or reinforce existing gender inequalities It also entails analyzing fiscal policies and budgetary decisions to understand their impact - intended and unintended - on gender equality and using this information to design and implement more effective gender policies 19

20. Why is gender-responsive budgeting needed? 20

21. Why is gender-responsive budgeting needed? 21 Because w omen, men, girls and boys often have very different practical and strategic needs and priorities. Women remain under-represented in public life, which means that government policy, including economic policy may not take their needs and priorities into account. These differences mean that policies which appear neutral on the surface may have unintended consequences, including increasing gender inequality

22. Purpose of gender-responsive budgeting 22 T o promote accountability and transparency in fiscal planning 2. To increase gender responsive participation in the budget process, for example by undertaking steps to involve women and men equally in budget preparation 3. To advance gender equity

23. Pre-requisites for gender-responsive budgeting 23

24. 24 1. Understanding Gender Understanding how gender inequalities arise is key to tackling its various manifestations. Knowing how gender and gender relations are constructed and perpetuated in society and in the institutions and processes of government, and that a mainstreaming approach is required if we are to redress gender inequality and work toward an equal society is a necessary starting point

25. 25 2 . Political commitment G overnment needs to lead on gender equality and communicate this throughout the administration . Genuine political commitment is demonstrated by political leadership and oversight, which in turn means setting the vision and ensuring the commitment to gender equality stays on the long-term agenda. What is needed is political will articulated in clearly defined gender equality objectives and translated into achievable targets 3. Bureaucratic commitment Within the structure of government departments and agencies, operational responsibility lies with civil servants at various levels of seniority. In an environment of heavy workloads and pressing deadlines, priorities have to be made. Gender mainstreaming is not considered to be part of the core work, but rather as one of a number of cross cutting themes and, therefore, additional work

26. 26 4. Operational translation of government gender equality policy It is important that the national gender equality policy be translated to accommodate the specific operation of each government department and agency. The degree to which a state’s gender equality policy is made operational can be measured by whether an implementation strategy is in place with benchmarks, targets and indicators so as to track progress. Objectives set at national level need to be localized. How can state government agencies contribute to gender equality objectives if those objectives are articulated only at the national level?

27. Stages in gender-responsive budget development 27

28. 28 Stages in gender-responsive budget development Stage 2 Stage 1 Reformulating budgetary policies and the distribution of resources to achieve gender equality outcomes Stage 3 2023 Working systematically to embed gender within all budgetary processes Analysis of the budget from a gender perspective to determine the differential impact of the budget on women and on men

29. 29 Stages in gender-responsive budget development Stage 1 Stage 3 2023 Stage 1 is the necessary first step; in the first instance this is useful to demonstrate that men and women are impacted by budgets and that they are impacted differently; that while economists and finance officials deal in monetized variables and financial aggregates, the end product of budgets is services, transfers and salaries targeted to people.

30. 30 Stages in gender-responsive budget development Stage 3 2023 The first level of analysis is to produce a sex-disaggregated report of end users or recipients of budget programs. Probing deeper from a gender perspective, the analysis can go on to demonstrate: T he degree to which the budget has satisfied the needs of the recipients; how the gendered needs and roles of the recipients contribute to the level of satisfaction; The challenges and barriers faced by those in the target group who have not accessed services; T he degree to which the budget has reduced, exacerbated or left unchanged gender inequality; T he relationship – more often than not, the disconnect – between stated policies – particularly gender equality policies – and budgetary decisions; W hy the budget needs to take account of the differing participation rates of women and men in the care economy.

31. 31 Stages in gender-responsive budget development Stage 2 Stage 3 2023 Where analysis reveals that budget resources have not been distributed in a gender equitable way, a response from the budget is required to redress the inequity. Where the distribution of budget resources does not match the government’s gender equality policies, realignment is required. Once the differential impact of the budget on women and on men is revealed, there is an obligation to incorporate gender as a category of analysis within the budgetary processes.

32. 32 Stages in gender-responsive budget development Stage 3 Stage 3 2023 Gender budgeting is not just about the content of budgets; it is also about the processes involved in budget-making. It is about how budget decisions are made, about the assumptions informing budgets; it is about who makes decisions and who influences decisions and it is about who is denied influence.

33. Gender Budget Analysis 33

34. Gender Budget Analysis 34 Essentially gender budget analysis works by: Analyzing any form of public expenditure, or method of raising public money, from a gender perspective. Identifying the implications and impacts of budgets on women and girls as compared to men and boys

35. Gender Budget Analysis 35 Points to Note Spending and taxation can have very different impacts on women and men because of their different situations, needs and priorities Policies which appear neutral on the surface may have the impact of increasing gender inequality, or may not work in the way they were intended because of these different impacts Gender budget analysis can highlight these differences and thus improve the  effectiveness, efficiency, accountability  and  transparency  of government policy, as well as making significant contributions towards gender equality and the realization of women’s rights

36. Objectives of Gender Budget Analysis 36 To reveal how government services, and the Objective government spending, benefits men and women. To raise awareness regarding the gender issues related to the differential impact. To illustrate the need for a gender-sensitive approach to budgetary decisions.

37. Procedure for Gender Budget Analysis Determine the budgetary input (amount of money Procedure spent). Determine the number of beneficiaries or users. Determine the unit cost, i.e. cost per beneficiary. Disaggregate by sex, i.e. specify number of women and men who benefited from the spending.

38. Results of Gender Budget Analysis Provides a n overview of government spending by sex of beneficiary. The findings can reveal a disproportionate distribution of spending by sex

39. Tool for Gender Budget Analysis

40. Gender-sensitive analysis of public expenditure The analysis of public expenditure from a gender perspective is the first practical exercise when undertaking gender budgeting. Knowing how many women and girls, men and boys are in receipt of public money is the first step towards determining whether public budgets are gender sensitive. Alongside data which reveals the distribution of public spending between the sexes, the analysis must include information which demonstrates how gender determines needs.

41. Gender-sensitive analysis of public expenditure Three criteria were selected to inform the focus of the analysis: Benefit derived from public spending Functional classification of expenditure categorized as to their assumed impact on women and girls and men and boys: Gender-neutral Mostly favoring women and girls; and Most favoring men and boys

42. Gender-sensitive analysis of public expenditure Totals are calculated in each of the three categories for each year Comparative analysis is made to determine trends in differential impact over 10 years Differential impact on employment of women and men

43. Gender-sensitive analysis of public expenditure b. Basic approach – benefit incidence analysis Benefit incidence analysis (BIA) is a technique that has traditionally been used to assess the distributional impact of government spending on health care, or more specifically the extent to which different socio-economic groups benefit from government subsidies.

44. Gender-sensitive analysis of public expenditure The underlying premise of such analyses is that government funds, and the services provided with these funds, should disproportionately benefit the lowest socio-economic groups and a BIA is conducted to assess whether government spending is in fact ‘pro-poor’ or not.

45. b. Basic approach – benefit incidence analysis Parameters Knowing the target group What is the profile of the target group for whom the programme is planned? Can the target group be described in terms of sex, age, ethnicity/race, disability, civil status and geographic location? Does the profile of the beneficiary match the profile of the target group?

46. b. Basic approach – benefit incidence analysis If there is not a match, who in the target group is not being reached? Why are some members of the target group not being reached? What percentage of the target group has been reached through the programme?

47. b. Basic approach – benefit incidence analysis Budget line Has all of the allocation for this programme been spent? If not, what is the level of the underspend? Has the allocation been sufficient for the size of the target group? (Look at the percentage of the target group that has been reached.) Has the allocation increased or decreased over a period of years? What is the nature of the allocation in terms of core funding, time-limited, annual, etc. What are the constraints attached to the funding?

48. b. Basic approach – benefit incidence analysis Matching policy with spending What objectives are attached to this funding line? What targets and indicators are in place to measure if objectives have been met? How does the State’s gender equality policy apply to this programme? Has a gender impact assessment been applied to this programme? Are there systems in place to monitor the gender impact of this programme?

49. The role of civil society While general information is available about the stated processes involved in the annual budgets, there is a gap in knowledge about the bureaucratic technicalities of budgets. A key dimension of budget-making relates to the political decisions taken by government. Civil society has a role in trying to influence those decisions so as to better promote gender equality

50. The role of civil society The functions performed by civil society are many and include: A rticulating the rationale for gender budgeting D emonstration of the analytic tools P ublic education and awareness creation initiatives Advocacy through L obbying and Influencing T raining and capacity building to public administrators M onitoring and tracking activities.

51. Building gender expertise Choose an area of spend where the implications for a gender impact seem most relevant. What is the State’s gender equality policy in this area? Are there objectives, targets, indicators attached to the policy? How can the State’s gender equality policy be translated to this particular programme or area of spend?

52. Building gender expertise What information (government and independent research) and expertise (NGOs, gender experts/academics) is available? What information is available about the views of service users? Has a beneficiary assessment been carried out to determine the level of satisfaction of service users?

53. THANK YOU 53