Gender inequalities continue to persist in all areas of social, political and economic life. The 2022 Report on the Implementation of the OECD Gender Recommendations found that although adherents to the Recommendations on Gender Equality in Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship and Gender Equality in Public Life have promoted policies to advance gender equality over the past five years, gender gaps remain. The COVID-19 pandemic has also exacerbated gender gaps and exposed a greater need for the application of a gender lens in policy development.
Addressing gender inequalities is not only a matter of intrinsic value and a moral imperative. It can also enhance growth, productivity, competitiveness and the sustainability of economies. Closing gaps in labour force participation and working hours may result in an average boost of 9.2% to GDP across OECD countries by 2060, adding about 0.23 percentage points to average annual growth.
The continued relevance of the OECD Gender Recommendations was highlighted in the 2023 OECD Ministerial Council Statement which outlined the Council’s ongoing commitment to gender equality. The Council encouraged the OECD to continue to mainstream gender equality and inclusivity at the core of its analysis. This commitment was echoed in the 2022 OECD Declaration on Building Trust and Reinforcing Democracy and the OECD 25 November 2022 Observatory on Social Mobility and Equal Opportunity, both recognising the importance of policy responses to address the drivers of inequalities to benefit society as a whole.
The OECD Gender Recommendations underscore the role of gender budgeting to mainstream a gender perspective throughout the budget cycle. Gender budgeting involves using the practices and procedures of the budget cycle in a systematic way to promote gender equality. Effective implementation of gender budgeting assists governments to ensure that budget policy helps advance overarching objectives relating to gender equality, such as closing gender gaps in the labour market.
This report continues to expand the OECD’s resources on gender budgeting by providing an overview of the design, implementation and practice of gender budgeting across OECD countries derived from the 2022 OECD Survey on Gender Budgeting, as well as drawing on information from surveys previously conducted in 2016 and 2018. The 2022 OECD Gender Budgeting Index shows that countries have adopted multi-initiative approaches to gender budgeting.
This report was prepared by Krystle Gatt Rapa, Anne Keller and Scherie Nicol of the Public Management and Budgeting Division in the Directorate for Public Governance under the oversight of Elsa Pilichowski, Director for Public Governance, and Jón Blöndal, Head of the Public Management and Budgeting Division, Public Governance Directorate. The report was prepared for publication by Meral Gedik.
The report was reviewed by the OECD Network on Gender Budgeting. It was approved by Committee of Senior Budget Officials on 10 July 2023 and prepared for publication by the Secretariat. The OECD is grateful to all of the parties who provided feedback on the report.