Gender Responsive Analysis and Budgeting Aotearoa New Zealand

Aotearoa New Zealand has a longstanding commitment to promoting women’s rights and achieving gender equality, with women’s activism and advocacy being important drivers in this work, and governments developing important policy initiatives to meet obligations under the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). However, gender equality is an unfinished project.

Gender analysis and gender-responsive budgeting tools have significant potential to integrate diverse gender perspectives throughout policy-making processes. Despite international support for the mainstreaming of both gender analysis and gender budgeting, New Zealand has yet to fully implement these tools. Our Gender Responsive Analysis and Budgeting project (GRAB-NZ), housed at the University of Auckland’s Public Policy Institute, examines data, methods and capability-building strategies to advance gender-inclusive policy and improve the wellbeing of women across Aotearoa New Zealand.

We are eager to support the sharing of the gender-focused policy advocacy work being undertaken by women’s groups around Aotearoa New Zealand. Please contact us if you are interested.

NZ’s budget used a ‘gender lens’ for the first time – the result was a win for women

There are many gender budgeting models. But best-practice examples apply a data-based gender perspective to all stages of the budget process, from design and analysis to implementation and evaluation.

Labour’s fourth ‘well-being budget’ still comes up short on the well-being of women

All budgets are about economics and politics, and 2022’s was no different. The Labour government continued its economic rebuild through commitments to infrastructure and industry, low- and middle-income earners’ living costs, and the successful implementation of signature reforms in health and climate.

Panel Discussion – Pandemic precarity: Exposing our Inequities

Around the world, Covid-19 has exposed and deepened existing social inequities. Frontline workers are typically low paid and often from disadvantaged groups. Women have borne the brunt of caring responsibilities during the pandemic which has had negative effects on their careers. The shift to online technologies has highlighted the digital divide within countries as well as globally. As we look to the future, how can we reduce inequities in Aotearoa? This panel discussion will explore how the pandemic has exposed inequities in Aotearoa and examine how we can bring about change.