Gender Responsive and Participatory Budgeting in Penang: The People-Oriented Model

Abstract

This chapter presents the Gender Responsive and Participatory Budgeting (GRPB) pilot project in Penang, Malaysia, under the Penang Women’s Development Corporation (PWDC) implemented in collaboration with two municipal councils. It focuses on the component related to community-based projects in two low-cost apartment complexes. The chapter examines the various concepts around participation and their links to the different notions of citizenship; and gender responsive budgeting and participatory budgeting engaging with the community as agents of change. A detailed documentation of the implementation, using the process of dialogical action, then leads to a critical examination of the project’s methodology, challenges and innovations, including its impact on women’s empowerment.