26 April 2015
T
HE rights of women have improved greatly,
but the goal of full equality remains a work in
progress. Addressing the gender inequality
challenges that remain is more difficult than
previously, because fundamental change is
required in economic policy-making and planning.
We have to identify ways of incorporating a focus on
equality into economic decision-making processes.
Equality budgeting can help to achieve this. This
approach has developed out of a growing
understanding that fiscal (tax and subsidy) policy can
make a significant contribution to narrowing or
widening gender gaps in areas such as income, health
and education. Fiscal policy can be a powerful tool for
improving and equalising the living standards and
opportunities of women and men.
Equality budgeting assesses the impact public
expenditure and taxation has on certain sectors of
society. It identifies who benefits from economic
policy measures and who doesn’t. It ensures that
equality is integrated as a driving principle in the
planning, design, implementation and review of
economic policy measures. It increases transparency
in budgetary processes and economic decision-
making.
We know, for example, that the lack of high-quality,
affordable childcare is a major barrier to employment
for many women. Therefore, a policy aimed at
increasing our investment in publicly-funded
childcare and early-years education from the current
level of 0.4% GDP annually to the OECD average of
0.7% GDP is likely to make it through an equality
budgeting process. However, it’s important to add
that political will is also required for policy priorities
to receive Cabinet approval.
Adequate public investment in childcare and early-
years education has yet to make it through the current
system of deciding budgetary priorities. This is
because the current system tends to ignore the
different socially-determined roles and
responsibilities of men and women. It overlooks the
different impacts that policies have on men and
women as a result of these roles.
The Equality Budgeting Campaign’s report,
‘Incorporating Equality Budgeting into Ireland’s New
Budgetary Process’ states that “the objective of
equality budgeting lies in ensuring this (type of)
information is used to reduce inequalities and to
achieve the best equality outcomes for specific
disadvantaged groups, but also for society at large”.
Equality budgeting opens up our economic growth
strategy to a different kind of scrutiny. This goes
beyond ‘value for money’ or ‘cost-benefit analysis’.
Both of these perspectives are important for assessing
economic efficiency, but they are lacking for assessing
impact on economic equality.
Scotland has established an independent budgetary
advisory group, the Equality and Budget Advisory
Group (EBAG), for this purpose. This is made up of
government and civil-society actors, including the
Women’s Budget Group, the Equality and Human
Rights Commission, the Scottish Government Finance
Directorate, and the Office of the Chief Economic
Adviser.
The advisory group works with the Scottish
Government to: provide advice and support for the
mainstreaming of equality in policy with the
appropriate allocation of resources; contribute to
mapping the pathway between evidence, policy
and spend; improve the presentation of equality
information in the Scottish budget documents; and
contribute to improved commitment to, and
awareness, of mainstreaming equality into policy
and budget processes.
The Scottish budgetary
process involves the
publication of a draft budget,
which allows for public
consultation and debate on the
particulars of the budget before
it is finalised. This approach is
in marked contrast to the Irish
budgetary process which
involves no public consultation
on draft measures and where
there is endless ‘kite flying’ in
the weeks leading up to the
budget announcements.
The Scottish parliament
publishes an equality statement alongside the draft
budget clearly outlining the equality implications of
the budget. The statement is arranged under the key
themes of the budget, such as health and wellbeing,
culture, external affairs, finance, employment and
sustainable growth. The Equality Budgeting
Campaign’s report draws on the Scottish experience
in setting out the steps required to introduce an
Equality Budgeting process in Ireland.
Equality Budgeting is good for women and for
equality, but it is also good for the economy. The
contribution of gender equality to economic
development is often overlooked, and measures aimed
at promoting gender equality are often framed as
socially worthwhile, yet potentially expensive.
Equality
budgeting as part
of fundamental
economic reform
Tackling sexism
SINÉAD PENTONY
Equality
budgeting
identifies who
benefits from
economic policy
measures and
who doesn’t
“
April 2015 27
Equality budgeting can be used to demonstrate the
promotion of gender equality as an economically
productive investment.
This gain is demonstrably achieved through:
quantitative improvements in women’s labour
market participation; improvements in the
effective use of investment in human capital;
women’s contribution to growth through greater
economic independence; women’s contribution as
consumers of goods and services; the integration
of women into the fiscal system as net
contributors to the welfare state; and the
establishment of a sustainable system of social
reproduction that is essential for economic
growth, future labour supply and sustainable
public finances.
However, while it is important to make an
economic case for gender equality, it is also
important not to ignore the moral or social
dimension to equality. This still transcends as an
imperative justification. Gender equality has many
non-economic benefits including reductions in child
poverty and enhanced personal freedom. Gender
equality is about human worth and the type of society
we aspire to.
The National Women’s Strategy 2007– 2016 is the
key policy document in relation to the advancement of
women in Irish society across all facets of the
economy and society. The Strategy is structured
around 3 themes in the areas of equalising socio-
economic opportunities for women; ensuring
well-being of women; and engaging women as equal
and active citizens. Within these themes there are 20
key objectives and over 200 planned actions, some of
which have been implemented over the last nine years.
The current Strategy comes to an end next year and
a consultation on a new National Women’s Strategy is
due to get underway in 2015. Last year, the mid-term
review of the National Women’s Strategy was
published and it concluded that the strategy remains
relevant to the current economic and social climates.
The review notes that the reduction of funding for
positive actions and for some other services presents a
challenge.
The objectives in the Strategy relating to economic
independence include: increasing the participation
of women in the labour force; decreasing the
gender pay gap; promoting the advancement of
women in the labour force; supporting women
entrepreneurs; ensuring girls and women achieve
their full potential in the education system;
ensuring childcare services are optimised to meet
the needs of parents and children; ensuring that
the care infrastructure supports women’s socio-
economic engagement; and reducing the number
of women experiencing poverty, in particular lone
parents and older women.
The mid-term review states that these objectives
remain relevant. It recommends more awareness-
raising about education choices and labour market
options; the costs and availability of childcare remain
an issue; and the labour market continues to be the
best route out of poverty.
The mid-term review does mention that proposed
actions under the Strategy have been affected by
budget cuts. However, it does not highlight the fact
that six years into the implementation of the
Strategy the participation of women in the labour
force remains static; the gender pay gap is rising;
the rate of women’s entrepreneurship remains
low; childcare costs and availability continue are
still a major barrier to employment; and the
poverty rates for lone parents have risen over the
last number of years.
While the impact of austerity has clearly taken its
toll on efforts to promote gender equality, the Strategy
itself was weak in a number of ways. The economic
‘theme’ of “equalising socio-economic opportunity for
women” did not include any reference to the impact of
taxation, public expenditure and the distribution of
resources. Nor does the Strategy include quantifiable
and measurable targets associated with these or any
other objectives.
Its not possible to achieve economic independence
for women in the absence of integrating gender-
specific perspectives at the design stage of economic
policies and economic planning. A commitment to a
comprehensive and fully-resourced Equality
Budgeting process in the new National Women’s
Strategy has the potential to put equality at the core of
economic decision-making. It has the potential to
address the causes of economic inequality and not just
the symptoms. This approach should be coupled with
quantifiable and measurable targets relating to
employment, pay and poverty reduction.
Women’s economic participation and empowerment
are fundamental to strengthening women’s rights and
enabling women to have control over their lives and
exert influence in society. Ultimately, this is central to
creating a just and equal Irish society. •
The review of the
National Women’s
Strategy 2007– 2016
does not highlight that
the participation of
women in the labour
force remains static; the
gender pay gap is rising;
and poverty rates for lone
parents have risen
“
Ireland is not the worst but not good enough
Source: World Economic Forum

Loading

© 2015 Village Magazine

Back to Top