Need for Gender-Informed Public Investment

If your budget isn’t changing gender inequality, it might be reinforcing it. Most policies mention gender, but few actually integrate it into planning and budgeting. This Toolkit for Gender Responsive Budgeting is designed to support institutions to move beyond policy statements and embed gender equality into planning and budgeting processes. Here’s why it’s worth a read: 🔎 It clarifies core gender concepts It breaks down the difference between sex and gender, explains gender norms and stereotypes, and unpacks terms like gender equality, equity, justice and intersectionality. Clear language strengthens policy. 🏛 It distinguishes institutional and programmatic mainstreaming It shows how gender must be integrated internally within systems, leadership, HR and accountability, and externally within policies, programmes and service delivery. 🧭 It provides a structured training pathway From commitment and terminology to sector priorities, planning and budgeting. The curriculum logic is clear and progressive. 📊 It links planning directly to budgeting It explains Gender Responsive Budgeting as a mainstreaming tool, including expenditure tagging, gender markers, tracking and reporting. 🛠 It includes practical tools Gender analysis approaches Guiding questions for sector planning The Gender Integration Continuum Guidance on data and evidence for informed decision making One important reminder from the toolkit: gender mainstreaming is not an add-on, but core business. More than half of any department’s constituency is women and girls. Ignoring gender means misallocating public resources. This toolkit helps answer critical questions: • Where are the women and girls in our sector? • Who is excluded and why? • How does our budget reflect our equality commitments? • Are we transforming power dynamics or simply accommodating them? Found it useful? Save it and share with your network. #GenderMainstreaming #GenderResponsiveBudgeting #PublicFinance #GenderEquality

Gender analysis is fundamental to ensuring public policies are equitable, evidence-based, and responsive to the needs of all people. This guide developed by the Australian Office for Women provides comprehensive instructions for integrating gender considerations throughout the policy and budgeting cycle, reinforcing the national commitment to gender equality and inclusion across the Australian Public Service (APS). The guide includes the following core components: – Explanation of why gender must be incorporated in policymaking to address systemic inequalities and ensure equitable access to opportunities and resources – Clarification of the relationship between gender inequality and other social factors such as age, disability, race, socioeconomic background, and location through an intersectional approach – Definition and methodology of gender analysis, including data requirements, proportionality of analysis, and integration into early stages of policy design – Guidance on conducting and documenting a Gender Analysis Summary, summarising evidence of gendered impacts for Cabinet Submissions and New Policy Proposals – Instructions for completing a Gender Impact Assessment, outlining criteria, process steps, and examples of positive, neutral, and negative impacts on gender equality – Description of assessment criteria based on gender equality, affected cohorts, workforce segregation, partnerships, and financial thresholds – Compilation of data sources and tools for gender analysis, including national statistics, surveys, and institutional resources relevant to Australian gender-responsive budgeting The guide highlights that effective gender integration requires consistent data use, early analytical engagement, and coordination across departments. By embedding gender analysis and impact assessments into every stage of policymaking, governments can ensure that decisions contribute to fairer social outcomes, stronger institutions, and measurable progress toward gender equality.

In Canada, women spend about 24% more time in poor health—roughly 14 years lived with disability compared to 11 years for men—and this creates both a major personal burden and a large economic drag. By 2040, closing this gap could give each Canadian woman about seven more healthy days per year, and boost Canada’s economy by approximately $37 billion annually. The latest McKinsey & Company's study identifies core drivers of this gap: 📌 an efficacy gap, where treatments and clinical research are less tailored or less effective for women (for example, cardiovascular or cancer treatments validated primarily in men 📌 a care-delivery gap, where women—especially in rural, Indigenous, racialized or low-income groups—get delayed, fragmented or lower-quality care 📌 a data gap, where women’s health conditions are under-measured and sex/gender-disaggregated data is lacking. The study stresses that Canada, despite its strong health system and resources, ranks poorly among major economies for the women’s-health‐related economic gap, so the potential upside is both large and achievable. To realise this opportunity, it outlines a multi-stakeholder call to action: governments, health systems, research institutions, businesses and investors need to invest in women-centric research and innovation, improve sex- and gender-disaggregated data collection, tailor care delivery to women’s needs, and integrate women’s health more fully into workplace and policy frameworks. It highlights that this isn’t just about reproductive health—many of the high-impact conditions are things like cardiovascular disease, migraines, menopause and mental health—so addressing them can strengthen workforce participation, productivity and national economic growth. Find out more via link 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eCippyuA #womenshealth #healthcaregap #femtech #innovation #healthcareresearch #healthcareinnovation #healthcareinvestment

💡 From gap to growth: unlocking the potential of gender-smart finance in Europe The European Investment Bank (EIB) has just released its new #study — “Debt Financing for Gender Equality in the EU: 2025 Mapping Study (From Gap to Growth)” — a fascinating deep dive into how financial institutions across Europe are supporting (and can better support) #womenentrepreneurs. 📈 Why it matters: Achieving greater gender balance in the EU could significantly #boost our #economies: 💶 #IncreasingGDP per capita by 6.1% to 9.6% by 2050, equivalent to €1.95 to €3.15 trillion. 👩💼Creating 10.5 million #newjobs by 2050 — benefitting both women and men. And for financial institutions, better serving women represents a global #revenueopportunity of USD 700 billion. Women-led businesses also tend to perform better on ESG standards, drive innovation, and foster inclusive growth. Yet, women entrepreneurs still face systemic barriers to finance — from higher interest rates and stricter collateral requirements to smaller loan amounts. 🔍 #Keyinsights from the study: 🏦 Successful models combine debt financing with non-financial support such as mentorship, networking, and capacity building — a #holisticapproach that strengthens business sustainability and growth. 📊 #Cleardefinitions and gender-disaggregated #data are essential to design effective solutions, align internal goals, and ensure transparency. 🤝 Public–private #partnerships and collaborations with chambers of commerce, NGOs, and women’s associations are key drivers of success. Financial institutions focusing on this segment report strong demand, solid portfolio performance, and reliable repayment — proving that investing in women is not only fair, but financially smart. 👉 A highly recommended read for anyone committed to making gender equality a lever for innovation, growth, and opportunity. Lea más en el siguiente enlace: https://lnkd.in/dhMNrH9C #EmbajadoresBBVA #lifeatBBVA #FinanciaciónSostenible #GenderFinance

As we enter the busy week leading up to International Women's Day, one of the priorities for UN Women in Pakistan over the next few years will be investing in building capacity for and investing in gender data and analytics. This is also in support of the Prime Minister's directive to generate annual Gender Parity Reports at both federal and provincial level, where we have extended our modest support. If we know exactly where the country stands, are better able to track progress and identify bottlenecks, the more effective and well informed our legal and policy interventions can be to achieve a gender responsive and sustainable future. Our latest analysis on women’s economic empowerment shows that Pakistan remains constrained by gendered labor market structures, discriminatory social norms, and limited access to financial resources. Despite the growing numbers of women entering the workforce, they face disparities in employment opportunities, earnings, and decision-making power. Financial inclusion remains a challenge, with only 13% of women owning a bank account and a mere 2% possessing a debit card. The burden of unpaid domestic and care work also disproportionately falls on women, limiting their participation in the formal economy. Targeted gender-transformative policies, increased investments in care services, and systemic reforms are necessary to create a more inclusive and equitable economic landscape for women.

Economic shocks don't impact everyone equally, and economic policies have the potential to manage negative impacts but don't always do so. A unique research project by African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) PEP - Partnership for Economic Policy ERF Latest ODI Global supported by International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Global Affairs Canada looked at how the war in Ukraine impacted women in low-income economies, and how policies mitigated these impacts. Two excellent papers summarize critical lessons for responses to future shocks: Phyllis Papadavid shows conventional macroeconomic policy responses have been inadequate in addressing gendered impacts. Central banks should dedicate more resources to understanding these disparities and implement targeted complementary measures, and that promoting diversified inward foreign direct investment (FDI) and debt restructuring can help mitigate the negative impacts of economic shocks on women. https://lnkd.in/gx6vFkSU And marzia fontana stresses substantial public spending is required to address gender deficits and reduce the barriers that women face in accessing quality jobs in both countries, that both domestic and external resources need to be mobilized, and that we need to change ways of understanding the economy and develop data, frameworks and modelling approaches. https://lnkd.in/gi-HFQAa. Erin Tansey Kathryn Toure Wessam El Beih