Te kaupapa rangahau tuarua:
Gender Responsive Budgeting
Our story:
The genesis of this project emerged, as do many research endeavours, from a fortuitous meeting between myself and a group of like-minded feminist scholars. We were at the launch of the Australian Federal Labor Party’s 2016 Women’s Budget Statement at Parliament House in Canberra. Australia was a very early adopter of gender responsive budgeting thanks to work of Rhonda Sharp and others, but over time, applying a gender lens to the allocation of public finances disappeared from their government’s budgetary process.
It has, however, remained at the forefront of the minds of women scholars and activists committed to gender equality at the state and federal level in Australia, a number of whom were at the launch that day. Professor Helen Hodgson was one of those I met, and she later e-introduced me to Dr Suzy Morrissey, who was writing on tax, gender and budgeting. Suzy and I had much in common, including both having been inspired by the intrepid scholarly and public intellectual endeavours of Prue Hyman and Marilyn Waring.
And so our determination to work on advancing gender responsive budgeting in Aotearoa New Zealand began to grow.
From left: Catriona McLennan, Jennifer Curtin, Katie Cammell, Suzy Morrissey, Rhonda Sharp, Margaret Wilson, Helen Hodgson and Prue Hyman
In November 2017, with the support of the Public Policy Institute, Suzy, Katie Cammell (our summer scholar) and I organised a one-day workshop with a range of experts, to discuss what an effective gender responsive budgeting process required. We gained significant insights from Australian Professors Rhonda Sharp and Helen Hodgson, now emeritus Professors Margaret Wilson and Prue Hyman, and gender equality advocate Catriona McLennan.
Several months later, we co-hosted with the New Zealand Treasury, a visit by feminist economist Professor Sue Himmelweit from the UK Women’s Budget Group, and our project design began to take shape. We then recruited Associate Professors Maria Bargh (Victoria University) and Barry Milne (University of Auckland), submitted a grant application and crossed our fingers. In October 2018, we won support from the MBIE Smart Ideas Fund to begin our research in earnest.
On these pages you will find a range of evidence-informed reports, resources and analyses from country experts, international think tanks, feminist activists and our own research team which, in combination, demonstrate a growing global consensus that the substantial economic and social costs associated with gender inequalities can be significantly ameliorated through effective gender responsive budgeting.
Research Team
Professor Jennifer Curtin
Director, Public Policy Institute
Sarah Bickerton
Research Fellow, Public Policy Institute
Dr Yanshu Huang
Research Associate, Public Policy Institute
Dr Maria Bargh
Associate Professor of Māori Studies, VUW
Te Arawa (Ngāti Kea/Ngāti Tuarā), Ngāti Awa
Associate Professor Barry Milne
Director, Centre of Methods and Policy Application in the Social Sciences (COMPASS)
Expert Advisors
Professor Rhonda Sharp
Emeritus Professor of Economics, University of South Australia
Dr Suzy Morrissey
Research Associate, Public Policy Institute
Professor Susan Himmelweit
UK Women’s Budget Group
Dr Angela O’Hagan
Reader in Equalities and Public Policy, Department of Social Sciences, Glasgow School for Business and Society
Dr Monica Costa
Senior Research Fellow, School of Economics, Finance and Property, Curtin University
In June 2018, Professor Jennifer Curtin was invited to attend the OECD Experts’ Meeting on Gender Budgeting and on Day Three, Jennifer presented a review of New Zealand to the OECD’s Roundtable on ‘Better Governance on Gender Equality’. Jennifer is one of the few non-government members of the Gender Budgeting Experts Group and continues to liaise with the OECD on new global developments on gender responsive budgeting and mainstreaming gender analysis.
In July 2019, Prof Jennifer Curtin and Dr Suzy Morrissey, met with officials from Canada’s federal Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Women and Gender Equality to discuss how gender equality objectives have been advanced by the wellbeing budgetary approach in New Zealand; we also learnt more about the process by which Canada legislated for, and subsequently implemented, a public facing gender budgeting process.
In July 2019 and January 2020, Prof Curtin met with Scherie Nicol from the OECD to continue discussions on new developments globally and the scaffolding required for successful gender responsive budgeting implementation by government agencies.
Gender Budgeting Submissions & Articles
Where does gender equality fit into the Budget?
Professor Jennifer Curtin and Dr Suzy Morrissey
May 31st 2019
“The University of Auckland’s Jennifer Curtin and Suzy Morrissey discuss how gender differences might impact the Government’s budget priorities”
Gender Budgeting: A Useful Approach for Aotearoa New Zealand
Suzy Morrissey (PPI Research Associate and GRAB-NZ Expert Advisor)
New Zealand Treasury Working Paper 18/02
April 2018
“Gender budgeting provides a way of analysing government expenditure and fiscal policy to promote gender equality. It can take many forms in practice including analysis of budget allocations, the structure of fiscal policies, expenditure tracking and monitoring systems to identify gender bias, whether explicit or implicit. It is generally understood that to ensure success such initiatives should be supported by both government and civil society.”
News and Events
‘Shovel ready’ found wanting for women
The Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner, Saunoamaali'i Dr Karanina Sumeo is sounding warnings around lack of gender analysis in the government's budgeting for the Covid-19 economic response. She's asked the government for a 'please explain' as to why when...
Why Gender Budgeting Matters: Submission to the Victorian Parliament – Jennifer Curtin
Submission to the Inquiry into Gender Responsive Budgeting Professor Jennifer Curtin Director, Public Policy Institute University of Auckland [republished from Victorian Parliamentary Website https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/paec/article/4346] 2 December 2019...
Watch Professor Susan Himmelweit: ‘Holding Government to Account on Gender Equality’
‘Holding Government to Account on Gender Equality: The experience of the UK Women’s Budget Group’ Recorded 1 March 2018. All rights reserved. Since 1989, the UK Women’s Budget Group (WBG), a group of academics, activists and trade unionists, has tried to hold...
