KUCHING: The revised Budget 2023 bears some semblance to the previous government’s commitment to Gender-Responsive Budgeting (GRB), which was significant in addressing the needs of women and men, boys and girls.
However, the Gender Budget Group (GBG) has opined that more can be done to ensure that it is truly gender-responsive.
GBG said it has advocated and promoted GRB since 2021, as it is an approach critical to ensure that gender equality considerations are taken into account in tax and spending decisions.
“We are cognisant of allocations such as incentives for women to return to the workforce after giving birth, the attention to accessibility of childcare, and support for microbusinesses run by women under the revised Budget 2023.
“We can foresee how these allocations will reduce the impact of rising costs of living and the gender gap. We also laud the Finance Ministry’s circular on gender analysis in every budgetary policy and programme – these must be institutionalised with sufficient training to effect substantive progress towards gender equality in line with SDG 5,” the group said in a statement.
However, the lack of crosscutting focus on gender in various sectors and ministries is of concern.
GBG said while addressing gaps in gender does not solely fall under the mandate of the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, it must be implemented by all government agencies, especially if they wish to eradicate hard-core poverty.
The allocations for childcare, for example, could have considered the needs of women who are employed in the informal sector. Similarly, technical education and vocational training (TVET) education programmes can be calibrated to ensure higher enrolment and retention rates for women, who face greater economic consequences for dropping out of school.
There were also certain budget measures that rang familiar: In Budget 2022, RM13 million was announced for hiring an additional 100 officers to handle sexual crimes against children.
“While the continued emphasis in Budget 2023 on supporting the D11 unit is commendable, it does raise questions about monitoring and evaluation. Was evaluation of the previous budget measure for D11 conducted?
Asked GBG: “Is their allocation this year increased, maintained, or decreased? We hoped the government would continue its commitment to creating a gender-focused budget that takes into consideration gender-responsive principles and the lived realities of diverse groups.”
In order to achieve this, the gender lens must be applied from the very beginning of the policy making stages, and not appended as an afterthought.
“Women make up more than half the population, therefore the budgetary needs of women, families and vulnerable communities must be viewed in an inclusive, cross-cutting manner. This is indispensable to a budget that supports gender equality, and sustainably serves the interests of all.”
GBG is a coalition of 21 CSOs and 16 academics spearheaded by ENGENDER Consultancy and the Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO). focused on taking a more proactive approach to ensure that different needs are effectively catered to in the budget.
