Gender Mainstreaming and Gender-Responsive Budgeting Course for Public Policy

Programme overview

Introduction:

Gender mainstreaming and gender-responsive budgeting for public policy is a 1-week course for government policy, planning, budget and statistics units and development agencies, ending with a Gender Mainstreaming and Budget Tagging Plan for a case public entity. Many public entities approve policies and allocations without knowing how women and men are affected differently, because sex-disaggregated data is missing and budget lines are never tagged. Nominees already draft policies, prepare budget submissions or compile statistics, and learning is by case study on policy drafts, budget tables and administrative datasets. CoreConcept Training Center delivers this gender mainstreaming course.

Course Objectives:

• Assess a public entity's readiness for gender mainstreaming and classify its policies as gender-blind, gender-neutral or gender-aware
• Apply gender analysis frameworks to profile roles, access to resources, decision control and practical and strategic needs
• Design sex-disaggregated indicators with baselines, definitions and data sources drawn from administrative and survey records
• Conduct an ex-ante gender impact assessment of a draft policy or programme and propose mitigation options
• Tag budget lines by gender relevance, estimate benefit incidence by sex and draft a gender budget statement
• Prepare a Gender Mainstreaming and Budget Tagging Plan with results indicators for women's economic participation programmes

Target Audience:

• Policy units responsible for drafting, appraising and revising public policies and regulations
• Planning and strategy units that set sector objectives, targets and results frameworks
• Budget units that issue budget circulars, review submissions and prepare budget documentation
• Statistics and data units that collect, classify and publish administrative and survey data
• Development agency programme units that design and monitor social and economic inclusion programmes

Course Outline:

Day 1: Gender Mainstreaming Concepts and Public Sector Baseline

• Gender Equality, Equity and Mainstreaming Concept Distinctions
• Gender-Blind, Gender-Neutral and Gender-Aware Policy Classification
• Unpaid Care Work and Time-Use Evidence in Policy
• Gender Focal Points and Cross-Ministry Coordination Mechanisms
• Entity Gender Mainstreaming Readiness Scan and Gap Profile

Day 2: Gender Analysis Frameworks and Sex-Disaggregated Indicators

• Gender Roles Framework Activity, Access and Control Profiles
• Practical and Strategic Gender Needs Assessment Matrix
• Social Relations Approach Institutional Mapping of Service Delivery
• Sex-Disaggregated Indicator Passport With Baseline and Data Source
• Gender Statistics Gap Review Across Administrative Data Systems

Day 3: Gender Impact Assessment and Gender-Responsive Budgeting Tools

• Ex-Ante Gender Impact Assessment Screening and Scoping Checklist
• Three-Category Budget Tagging of Expenditure Lines
• Benefit Incidence Analysis of Public Service Spending by Sex
• Revenue and Tax Expenditure Review Through a Gender Lens
• Gender Budget Statement Drafting for Budget Circular Submissions

Day 4: Women's Economic Participation Programmes, Evaluation and Pitfalls

• Theory of Change for Women's Economic Participation Programmes
• Gender-Sensitive Results Framework With Outcome and Output Indicators
• Gender-Responsive Monitoring Protocols and Evaluation Question Design
• Gender Budgeting Assessment Index Self-Rating for Public Entities
• Tagging Inflation, Weak Data and Symbolic Reporting Risk Controls

Day 5: Case Study Capstone on a Gender Mainstreaming and Budget Tagging Plan

• Case Entity Gender Analysis Profile and Indicator Selection
• Case Draft Policy Gender Impact Assessment and Mitigation Options
• Case Budget Line Tagging and Benefit Incidence Estimates
• Case Programme Results Framework and Reporting Calendar
• Gender Mainstreaming and Budget Tagging Plan Completion and Defence

Skills You Will Gain:

• Gender Analysis
• Sex-Disaggregated Indicator Design
• Gender Impact Assessment
• Gender Budget Tagging
• Benefit Incidence Analysis
• Gender Budget Statement Writing
• Gender-Sensitive Results Monitoring

Why Attend This Course:

• Hand the budget director and the policy committee a Gender Mainstreaming and Budget Tagging Plan for a case public entity
• Decide which draft policies and spending lines need a full gender impact assessment and which need only screening
• Avoid reallocations and programme launches that widen gaps between women and men because sex-disaggregated evidence was missing
• Coach policy, budget and statistics colleagues with the tagging guide, indicator passports and assessment checklists built during the course

Conclusion:

Back at work, the participant gives the budget director, the policy committee and the statistics unit a Gender Mainstreaming and Budget Tagging Plan. Budget analysts use its tagging categories when reviewing submissions, policy units use its impact assessment checklist before approving drafts, and programme managers use its indicators to report on women's economic participation. After the first budget round in which tags are applied, the entity should compare tagged allocations with benefit incidence results, check data gaps and revise categories, indicators and responsibilities.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

What should participants know before a gender mainstreaming and gender-responsive budgeting course?

Participants should already work on policy drafting, budget preparation, planning or statistics in a public entity or development agency. Familiarity with budget classifications and spreadsheets helps. Bringing an anonymised policy draft or budget table makes the case study closer to their own work.

How does a gender mainstreaming and gender-responsive budgeting course differ from a workplace diversity and inclusion course?

This course examines how public policies, programmes and budgets affect women and men in the population served. Workplace diversity and inclusion courses address an organisation's own recruitment, pay and promotion practices. Leadership development for women is a separate, personal skills subject.

Does gender-responsive budgeting mean creating a separate budget for women?

No. Gender-responsive budgeting analyses the whole budget from a gender perspective, tagging expenditure and revenue lines, estimating who benefits and adjusting allocations where gaps appear. Spending targeted at women is only one part of the exercise.

What does a participant take back from the gender mainstreaming and gender-responsive budgeting course?

Participants take back a Gender Mainstreaming and Budget Tagging Plan for a case public entity, with a tagging guide, indicator passports, an impact assessment checklist and a results framework that can be adapted to their own entity.