Mapping of Gender Budgeting

This report presents the main findings and recommendations based on the exercise to map gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) activities supported by the European Union’s (EU) external actions from 2014 to 2022. 

The report is designed to complement the mid-term evaluation of the implementation of Gender Action Plan III (GAP III) and provide a basis for further discussions aimed at systematically integrating GRB into the context of EU external actions. The purpose of the mapping exercise was to identify different ways of working with gender considerations in public finance processes, guided by the following key questions: How does the EU support GRB (stand-alone projects, activities within an existing project, cooperation with international organisations, etc.)? What was the duration of the GRB support and who were the main actors? What are the main GRB tools promoted and used in accordance with the budget cycle? What is the overall national policy framework for GRB? What are the key outcomes from a possible follow-up to GRB projects/support? What form of GRB support yielded the most sustainable outcomes? Specific focus was placed on the use of GRB in social sectors (health, education, and social policy), particularly in relation to unpaid work – as specifically highlighted in the GAP III Joint Communication [1]. The main purpose of the exercise was to map the efforts supported by the EU, not to provide an analysis of the results, impacts and approaches used.