The institutionalization of gender budgeting and prospects for intersectional analysis

Abstract

IMPACT The intersectional gender budgeting approach presented in this article invites more fundamental changes to existing budget processes with more inclusive public participation, institutional changes and reallocating resources within government, less dependence on quantifiable and discrete categorizations, and possibilities for corrective actions. Gender budgeting is currently not effectively embedded in budget processes, nor is it achieving its intended outcomes, and therefore a different approach is needed. The new approach does not require increasing governments’ spending and has the potential for long-term benefits and savings. The article explains how intersectionality should be applied, warning against misappropriation by governments when it becomes a ‘catch-all’ or umbrella term to group all forms of inequality together, reproducing marginalization at the intersections.