Governments all over the world have committed themselves to the advancement of women in the United Nations? (UN) conferences since 1985 and as signatories to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Despite this fact, it has been difficult to turn the tide of existing gender inequalities and move towards greater equality in terms of life experiences and distribution of opportunities among women and men. Gender budget initiatives (GBIs) are one specific tool aimed at recognising underlying inequalities and redressing them through the allocation of public resources. To date such initiatives have been implemented in over 40 countries worldwide.
In a field that is still under exploration, this report seeks to contribute to answer such questions as: ‘What is the problem?’, ‘What are GBIs and why are they needed?’ and ‘How are GBIs implemented in practice?’.