Engendering the Recovery: Budgeting with Women in Mind
IMF Blog, March 5, 2021
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Bibliographic details
- Authors: Antoinette M Sayeh, Jiro Honda, Carolina Renteria, Vincent Tang
- Published: March 5, 2021
Overview and context
- Publication date: March 5, 2021.
- Authors: Antoinette M. Sayeh, Jiro Honda, Carolina Renteria, Vincent Tang.
- Context: International Women’s Day, March 8, marks a year from the start of widespread lockdowns in response to COVID-19; IMF warned in July that women have borne the economic and social brunt of the pandemic.
- Central message: Governments preparing budgets for the next fiscal year have a “golden opportunity” to counter pandemic-driven gender inequities by applying gender budgeting tools.
Evidence of unequal impacts
- Labor market and social impacts documented:
- "one million Japanese women left the labor market when the pandemic hit, while labor force participation by men changed far less."
- In Chile, "76 percent of women reported spending more time on domestic chores since COVID-19 began."
- Mexico saw a "53 percent increase in emergency calls related to violence against women."
- The Malala Fund estimates "20 million girls in developing countries may never return to the classroom after pandemic-related school shutdowns."
- Policy response scale:
- The UN’s COVID-19 Global Gender Response Tracker shows countries enacted "nearly 1,000 policy measures" addressing gender-related challenges.
- IMF findings:
- IMF research concludes such policy measures "increase women’s employment which, in turn, improves economic well-being for all."
- Failing to build on these measures risks "long-term scarring that will cement women’s disadvantage and harms the prospects for recovery."
What is gender budgeting
- Definition: Integrates gender into the policies and processes of public financial management; uses national budgets as a tool to address gender inequalities.
- Purpose: Ensure policy responses are needs-based, effectively designed, aligned with the budget process, and monitored and evaluated for improved implementation.
Starter kit for gender budgeting (actionable steps)
- Assemble evidence:
- Conduct a Gender Needs Assessment to assess the impact of the pandemic and lockdown on women and girls, including sectoral impacts and dependence on public services.
- Example: UN‑Women performed a Gender Needs Assessment in Ukraine "in just one month" at the start of the pandemic using phone and online surveys.
- Better policy design:
- Use Gender Impact Assessments to evaluate the proportion of female beneficiaries and barriers to access; Austria and Canada now include them "as part of all new budget proposals."
- Assessments can reveal unintended bias (e.g., wage subsidy schemes excluding informal sector workers; tax policies discouraging women from working).
- Allocate resources:
- Allocate sufficient resources to gender policies to convert goals into action.
- Example: IMF’s Egypt program included measures to support higher budget allocations for targeted cash transfers "many to women," and to improve public childcare services.
- Recommendation: Anchor gender policy goals through Budget Circulars and Gender Budget Statements to ensure resources are channeled and to provide public confidence and transparency.
- Example: Philippines’ 2021 Budget Circular incorporates priority policy areas, including in health, nutrition, and social protection, that support women.
- Track and evaluate:
- Track gender-focused expenditures, undertake light-touch policy evaluations, and conduct gender performance audits to provide timely feedback and course correction.
- Example: Sierra Leone’s real-time audits during the Ebola epidemic "effectively responded" and highlighted issues in drug distribution and duplicated payments.
Capacity, coverage, and gaps
- IMF engagement and capacity building:
- The IMF has worked with "113 member countries" on implementing budgetary practices, allocations, and tax policies to promote gender equality.
- Since the start of the pandemic, "over 55 countries" have invested in gender budgeting training with the Fund.
- Legal and procedural gaps:
- An IMF survey finds "only half have legal frameworks" to carry out gender equality goals.
- "Only a quarter use established practices such as Gender Budget Statements and Gender Impact Assessments."
- Implication: Almost all countries have gender equality goals, but many lack the legal frameworks and established practices to implement them; recovery from the pandemic is an opportunity to accelerate progress.
Policy recommendations (summarized)
- Rapidly assemble and present gender-disaggregated evidence (e.g., Gender Needs Assessments).
- Integrate Gender Impact Assessments into budget proposal design to avoid unintended biases and improve targeting.
- Anchor gender goals in budget processes via Budget Circulars and Gender Budget Statements to secure resources and transparency.
- Track expenditures and evaluate impacts through audits and policy evaluations to enable timely corrective action.
- Scale up capacity building and legal frameworks to translate gender equality goals into implementable policies.
IMF Blog: Engendering the Recovery: Budgeting with Women in Mind — March 5, 2021.