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Nordisk Ministerråd

Mainstreaming a gender equality perspective into Nordic national budgets

Nordic cooperation during 2004-2006

Catharina SchmitzProject Director

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Nordisk MinisterrådProject objectives

• Establish a cooperation between ministries of finance and gender equality units and other relevant actors

• Develop methods• Contribute to excange of knowledge,

experience and lessons learned within the Nordic countries

• Disseminate knowledge and lessons learned

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Nordisk Ministerråd

Development work in each Nordic country – common traits• Results-oriented budgeting in all countries

• Gender budgeting initiated by the governments and carried out within the government offices – to a large extent by “the actors normally involved”.

• All countries began with pilot projects to gather experience and develop methods and tools,

• in different pace and with differing scope extending the gender budgeting work within the government offices.

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Nordisk Ministerråd

Gender budgeting is about the ordinary money and measures …

Example from the Swedish Budget Bill for 2006

Labour Market Policy

Gender Equality SEK 27 MillionsProgrammes

Total budget SEK 67,4 Billions

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Nordisk Ministerråd

The Nordic approach on Gender Budgeting

Focus on

• Economic governance of the public sector

• The decision-making material underlying economic policy

• The production of statistics disaggregated by sex

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Nordisk Ministerråd

Component 1Economic governance of the public sector

Integrate a gender perspective in results-based management, management by objective and financial control.

The trend in the Nordic countries is towards• developing and mainstreaming gender analyses

and/or gender impact assessments into drafting processes,

• formulating gender equality objectives that are then mainstreamed into economic governance,

• developing follow-ups to the national objectives for gender equality in economic governance.

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Nordisk Ministerråd

Budgetary process

Incorporate a gender perspective in result-based management

Gender Analysis

Gender equality objectives

Follow-up gender objectives

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Nordisk MinisterrådA Gender Perspective

• On Law reforms and the budget bill by applying gender equality analysis and gender impact assessments as part of the ordinary procedures

• In the budget document or supporting documents by incorporating gender analysis, descriptions and targets

• Increase ministerial staff and politicians gender awareness and gender knowledge to enhance ability to demand and evaluate material from a gender perspective

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Nordisk MinisterrådRecommendations

• Mainstream the gender equality perspective into existing processes and existing divisions of responsibility.

• Mainstream gender equality into the drafting process at an early stage.

• Formulate gender equality objectives that can be followed up and mainstream them into economic governance.

• Develop and improve the follow-up of the national objectives for gender equality in economic governance.

• Extend auditing and evaluation to include follow-ups of compliance with the gender budgeting mandate.

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Nordisk Ministerråd

Component 2The economic decision-making material

• A need to integrate a gender equality perspective in the economic decision-making material

For example: - by producing distribution policy reports, - Incorporate a gender perspective in long-

term planning reports - undertaking time-use studies

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Nordisk Ministerråd

Component 3Statistics disaggregated by sex

• All official statistics relating to individuals must be gathered, analysed and presented by sex,

• Statistics must reflect the gender equality issues and problems found in society.

• It is vital that all performance reporting is disaggregated by sex, i.e. both dissimilarities and similarities

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Nordisk Ministerråd

… achieving a fair distribution and good results for both women and men

Gender equality analysis of Swedish labour market policy (2005)

The need for:• Fair distribution of resources – the analysis

showed that women are over-represented in training programs with low average costs and men in programs with high average costs.

• Good results for both sexes – the analysis showed that men are over-represented in the most effective programs and women in programs that more seldom lead to permanent jobs.

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Nordisk MinisterrådConclusions

• Pilot projects good start - develop processes and methods

• Interministerial cooperation important and necessary

• Pilot project leads to “regular work”

• Important to have formal governance of the implementation process via an explicit political commission

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Nordisk Ministerråd

• Important to “see” that gender equality perspective represents a dimension of core activity – thus help improve it, Brings about more efficient use of resources and enhances services

• Gender budgeting is a change processand need to be supported, four areas of specific importance

Governance of the process Organisation of work Methods Training

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Nordisk MinisterrådManagement and Control

Formal steering mechanisms:• Laws• Steering documents

- overriding - for sub-processes

• Follow-up and evaluation

Informal steering mechanisms:• Demand from politicians and heads for

gender analyses and results of the work – and remarks when it is missing

• Politicians and heads showing interest in gender equality issues – for instance by taking part in seminars and training.

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Nordisk MinisterrådEducation and training

The importance of• An analysis of the skills needed for

different actors (management as well as officials on different levels) to perform their respective tasks with regards to gender budgeting

• A plan to ensure that the staff has the necessary skills to perform these tasks

• Assistance to staff to apply the knowledge and skills needed

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Nordisk MinisterrådMethods and tools

The importance of• methods and tools adapted to the different

stages and the different actors of the budgetary work

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Nordisk MinisterrådCoordination and organisation

The importance of addressing the different levels of the organisation, for example:

• Steering group • Gender equality coordinators at the

ministries• Gender equality unit • “The actors normally involved”

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Nordisk MinisterrådJämStöd “The ladder”

Evaluate the outcome

Fundamental understanding

Examine the conditions

Plan and organize

Mapping the activities

Investigate and analyse

Formulate objectives and measures

Implement themeasures

Improve!

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Nordisk Ministerråd

Gender mainstreaming in budgetary process

Government decision and plan to implement gender mainstreaming in public policies, legislation and budgets

– Denmark 2006– Finland 2004– Sweden 2004– Norway 2005

Nordisk Ministerråd

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Nordisk Ministerråd

Example results:Sweden

• Gender Analysis and gender goals120 analysis in 48 policy areas, established 50 objectives, an additional number of indicators , a further 20 mandates , 60-odd instructions in appropriation directions concerning results

• An appendix to the budget statement: Distribution of Economic Resources between Women and Men

• Long-term planning reports: Report on unequal distribution of use of time, responsibility and money between sexes

• Time-use studies distribution of unpaid work between sexes

• Focus 2006: statistics disaggregated by sex in the Budget Bill half of the individually tables presented by sex, next budget - goal is all tables

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Nordisk MinisterrådMaterial available at

• www.norden.org search under co-operation/gender equality

Or use the link:http://www.norden.org/gender/konferanse/sk/gendernov.asp?lang=

&p_id=1070

Reports:• Now It’s About the Money ANP 2006:766• Gender Budgeting – Integration of a gender perspective in the

budgetary process, country reports, TEmaNord 2006:578Examples of gender analysis on the web-site under project 2Gender

Budgeting” and in report ANP 2005:731