Definition
Gender Budgeting
Gender budgeting is the practice of analysing and presenting the Budget to show how allocations affect women and promote gender equality.
Gender budgeting does not create a separate budget for women; instead it tags and reports allocations across ministries that benefit women, presented in a dedicated Gender Budget Statement. This makes the gendered impact of public spending visible and encourages departments to plan for it.
The statement typically distinguishes schemes wholly meant for women from those where women are a significant share of beneficiaries. By institutionalising this analysis, the government aims to mainstream gender concerns into fiscal policy rather than treating them as an afterthought.
Related terms
- Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)Direct Benefit Transfer is the routing of government subsidies and welfare payments straight into beneficiaries' bank accounts to cut leakage and middlemen.
- Sukanya Samriddhi YojanaSukanya Samriddhi Yojana is a government small-savings scheme for the girl child offering attractive, tax-favoured returns to encourage saving for her future.
- Outcome BudgetAn outcome budget measures government spending against the actual results and deliverables achieved, rather than just the amounts allocated.
Plain-English explainer from The Dispatch Investors Encyclopedia. General information, not financial advice.