Gender Budgeting & Women Empowerment
🟠 Topic 83: Gender Budgeting & Women Empowerment
📌 Introduction
Gender Budgeting is a governance tool that integrates a gender perspective into the budgeting process, ensuring that policies, programs, and public expenditures actively contribute to gender equality and women’s empowerment. It moves beyond gender-specific schemes to examine how mainstream budget allocations impact women and girls.
In the broader context, women empowerment refers to enhancing the social, economic, and political strength of women, ensuring equal opportunities, decision-making power, and control over resources. Gender budgeting acts as a financial lever to institutionalise gender equity in governance and development.
🔹 What is Gender Budgeting?
📖 Definition
Gender Budgeting refers to the process of planning, allocating, and monitoring budgets with the objective of promoting gender equality and ensuring that public spending addresses the needs of women and men equitably.
Key Elements of Gender Budgeting
✔️ Analysing budget allocations and expenditures from a gender perspective.
✔️ Assessing the differential impact of public spending on men and women.
✔️ Tracking gender-responsive schemes and programs.
✔️ Institutionalising gender-sensitive planning across ministries.
Objectives of Gender Budgeting
✔️ Reduce gender gaps in education, health, livelihoods.
✔️ Address specific needs of women (maternity, safety, access to credit).
✔️ Enhance women’s participation in governance and the economy.
✔️ Ensure gender-responsive public services and infrastructure.
🔹 Gender Budgeting in India
Timeline
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 2004-05 | Gender Budgeting introduced in Union Budget |
| 2005 | Gender Budget Cells (GBCs) set up in all ministries |
| 2007 | First Gender Budget Statement (GBS) published |
| 2023 | Over **30 ministries reporting gender budgets annually |
Gender Budget Statement (GBS)
✔️ A dedicated document presented with the Union Budget, outlining allocations for women-specific programs and gender-neutral schemes with women components.
✔️ Two-Part Structure:
| Part | Description |
|---|---|
| Part A | 100% allocation for women-centric schemes |
| Part B | At least 30% allocation benefiting women in composite schemes |
Gender Budget Allocation Trends
| Year | Allocation (₹ crore) | Share of Total Budget |
|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 1.71 lakh crore | 4.7% |
| 2022-23 | 1.89 lakh crore | 4.3% |
| 2023-24 | 2.23 lakh crore | 4.8% |
Examples of Gender Budgeted Schemes
| Scheme | Focus Area |
|---|---|
| Beti Bachao Beti Padhao | Girl child survival & education |
| Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana | Maternity benefits |
| Mahila E-Haat | Digital marketing platform for women entrepreneurs |
| Working Women Hostels | Safe accommodation for working women |
| Poshan Abhiyaan | Nutrition for pregnant women & lactating mothers |
Case Study – Rajasthan’s Gender Budgeting Model
- Rajasthan was one of the first states to adopt gender budgeting at state level.
- Introduced gender audit of key schemes.
- Linked gender goals with annual plans.
- Specific allocations for: ✔️ Girls’ education incentives. ✔️ Skill training for women artisans. ✔️ Women’s safety infrastructure.
🔹 Women Empowerment – Meaning & Dimensions
📖 Definition
Women Empowerment refers to enhancing women’s ability to make strategic life choices, participate equally in economic and political processes, and have equal access to resources and opportunities.
Key Dimensions of Women Empowerment
| Dimension | Examples |
|---|---|
| Economic Empowerment | Equal pay, property rights, financial inclusion |
| Political Empowerment | Representation in legislatures, leadership roles |
| Social Empowerment | Education, healthcare, social mobility |
| Legal Empowerment | Protection from violence, property rights, legal aid |
Indicators of Women Empowerment
✔️ Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) – Measures economic participation.
✔️ Sex Ratio at Birth – Indicator of gender preference.
✔️ Female Literacy Rate – Access to education.
✔️ Political Participation – Women’s representation in Parliament, Panchayats.
India’s Status (2023)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Female Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) | ~25% |
| Women MPs in Lok Sabha | ~14% |
| Female Literacy Rate | ~70% |
| Sex Ratio (Census 2011) | 940 females per 1000 males |
🔹 Government Schemes for Women Empowerment
| Scheme | Focus Area |
|---|---|
| Beti Bachao Beti Padhao | Girl child survival & education |
| Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana | Girl child savings scheme |
| Mahila Shakti Kendra | Women’s empowerment centres |
| Stand-Up India | Loans for women entrepreneurs |
| One Stop Centres (OSC) | Support for women facing violence |
| Ujjwala Scheme | LPG connections for women in BPL households |
Case Study – Women SHGs & Economic Empowerment
- Over 1 crore SHGs linked to formal banking system.
- Women SHGs engage in: ✔️ Micro-enterprises. ✔️ Livelihood generation. ✔️ Community leadership.
- Contributed significantly to rural economic resilience.
🔹 Role of Institutions in Women Empowerment
| Institution | Role |
|---|---|
| National Commission for Women (NCW) | Legal redressal, policy advocacy |
| Ministry of Women & Child Development (MWCD) | Nodal ministry for gender issues |
| Self-Help Groups (SHGs) | Financial inclusion, entrepreneurship |
| Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) | Political empowerment at grassroots |
🔹 Challenges to Gender Budgeting & Women Empowerment
1️⃣ Gender Bias in Implementation
✔️ Funds allocated but underutilised.
✔️ Cultural barriers limit scheme outreach.
2️⃣ Low Female Labour Participation
✔️ Social norms restrict women’s workforce entry.
✔️ Unpaid care work burdens women disproportionately.
3️⃣ Gender Wage Gap
✔️ Women earn 20-30% less than men in many sectors.
✔️ Limited upward mobility in private sector jobs.
4️⃣ Safety & Mobility Concerns
✔️ Inadequate safe public transport.
✔️ Rising instances of gender-based violence.
5️⃣ Institutional Weakness
✔️ Many Gender Budget Cells (GBCs) are dormant.
✔️ Weak gender auditing and impact assessment.
🔹 Way Forward
✔️ Institutionalise gender audits at all levels of governance.
✔️ Link gender targets to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
✔️ Strengthen political participation of women through reservations.
✔️ Expand gender-sensitive skill development programs.
✔️ Enhance safety infrastructure for women in public spaces.
📚 Practice MCQ
1️⃣ Gender Budgeting was officially introduced in the Union Budget in which year?
✅ Options:
(a) 1991
(b) 2000
(c) 2005
(d) 2010
2️⃣ Which of the following schemes promotes financial inclusion for women entrepreneurs?
✅ Options:
(a) PMJDY
(b) Stand-Up India
(c) Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana
(d) Beti Bachao Beti Padhao
