THE SCOTTISH EXPERIENCE OF PROMOTING GENDERSENSITIVE BUDGETING

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THE SCOTTISH EXPERIENCE OF PROMOTING
GENDER-SENSITIVE BUDGETING

• Rona Fitzgerald, EOC Scotland and SWBG and
• Morag Gillespie
• SLPU/Glasgow Caledonian
• SWBG

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Women embracing change

• The Scottish experience of promoting
  gender-sensitive budgeting occurs against a
  background of significant institutional and
  policy changes.
• Devolved Scottish Parliament in May 1999 - passes
  legislation and scrutinises the work of the
  Scottish Executive

3
Women embracing change

• The establishment of the Parliament and Executive
  represented a window of opportunity for the
  womens lobby.
• The absence of a stated political commitment to
  gender in election manifestos suggests that the
  promotion of gender balance and mainstreaming in
  Scotland can be directly attributed to the
  lobbying and participation of womens groups
  throughout the process towards devolution.

4
Women embracing change

• In addition, there was considerable push from
  external forces
• UK work of WEU, CEDAW commitments, example of
  WBG engagement with policy makers and HMT
• EU provision for mainstreaming gender equality
  in Structural Funds in 2000-2006 period

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Progress towards a gender sensitive
budget/spending review

• The Equality Strategy of the Scottish Executive
  (Nov 2000) outlined a commitment to
• assess the equality impact of spending plans
  and decisions as part of the mainstreaming
  agenda
• EPBAG Equality proofing Advisory Group set up in
  1999 linking the Executive Equality Unit and
  Finance Department, statutory equality bodies and
  EWBG/SWBG
• Commissioned research on budget process and
  intervention points for linking policy and spend

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Progress towards a gender sensitive
budget/spending review

• No examples to date of actual policy shifts
• Actual budget remains gender neutral - blind!
• However
• Embracing change
• Greater transparency - Understanding the Budget
  Process
• Greater participation - forging new partnerships

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Governing Principles

• Transparency
• Participation
• Sustainability
• Long Term Strategy
• Country Ownership

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Transparency and Participation

• Promoting transparent annual budgeting - public
  consultation key and SWBG have used this process
  to promote gender analysis of Scottish spending
  plans
• Equality Proofing Budgets Advisory Group
• Equality proofing the Scottish Budget is the
  mechanism for linking the mainstreaming of
  equality in the policy process with the
  appropriate distribution of resources
• Statutory equality bodies and SWBG meet with
  Equality Unit, Senior Finance officers

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Sustainable and Long Term Strategy?

• Focus on the budget and sectoral areas - linking
  gender impact analysis with gender budget
  analysis
• Build on current developments with respect to
  mainstreaming agenda - pilot of equality
  mainstreaming in education and housing
• Pilot in Health proposed on gendered analysis of
  budget - EPBAG to advise on this pilot

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Levers

• Equality Unit
• Equality Proofing Budgets Advisory Group
• Support of the Finance Department
• Knowledge of politicians
• Scrutiny function of Parliament

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Key Achievements

• Equalities Statement in Equality Unit Annual
  Report
• Finance Dept Guidelines to Sectoral Departments
• Pilot of tools - Gender in Health Spending
• Definition of Equality Proofing the Budget
• Capacity building within the Parliamentary
  Committees

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Barriers/ Next steps

• Not a GBI yet
• Gender v Equalities
• Building capacity
• Democratising the process
• Reviewing SWBG role