Advancing Gender Equality through Budgetary Allocation

Abstract

Gender equality is a fundamental human right and a crucial driver of sustainable development. Achieving inclusive and equitable growth requires ensuring equal access to resources, opportunities, and decision-making processes for individuals of all genders (Tsetsi & Rains, 2017). One method for gender mainstreaming, ensuring that women receive their due benefits, and empowering women is gender budgeting. Gender budgeting, as a policy approach, integrates a gender perspective into the budgetary process to ensure that public resources are distributed equitably, addressing the unique needs of all genders. This approach not only seeks to improve women's access to essential services and opportunities but also fosters accountability in government spending by assessing the impact of financial allocations on different demographics. As such, advancing gender equality through budgetary allocation is not merely a fiscal responsibility but a fundamental step toward fostering inclusive growth and sustainable development. The present study is a qualitative research that embarks on a comprehensive exploration of the transformative implications of gender-sensitive budgeting, illuminating its profound impact on the holistic advancement of the nation, and shedding light on the nuanced strategies employed to foster gender equity and empower women across diverse sectors and regions of the country.