'Equity, not just equality': Experts call for stronger gender-responsive budgeting in Bangladesh

Bangladesh must go beyond symbolic allocations and adopt a more inclusive and effective approach to Gender-Responsive Budgeting (GRB) so that fiscal policies adequately address the actual needs and rights of women and girls, said experts at a pre-budget dialogue today.

They also emphasised the need for an increased gender budget allocation and effective monitoring to ensure proper utilisation of the funds. 

The dialogue, jointly organised by Citizen's Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh and UN Women Bangladesh at a Dhaka hotel, focused on "Advancing Gender-Responsive Budgeting and FfD4 Outcome" in the context of the upcoming national budget.

At the discussion, Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, convenor of Citizen's Platform and distinguished fellow of Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), highlighted the political and economic context for GRB, noting that women are disproportionately affected by economic challenges such as high inflation and reduced private investment, which are often underreported in official data.

Gitanjali Singh, representative of UN Women Bangladesh, stressed the importance of the Beijing Platform for Action and the need to institutionalise gender budgeting across ministries. 

She called for focus on areas such as child marriage prevention, inclusive infrastructure, and social protection, particularly as Bangladesh nears its least developed country (LDC) graduation.

Towfiqul Islam Khan, senior research fellow at CPD, presented alarming statistics, revealing that 1.8 million out of 2.1 million job losses in the first half of the current fiscal year were among women. In addition, overseas employment for women has halved in just two years.

He noted that the progress in gender empowerment is plateauing or decaying in critical areas. 

Towfiqul further stressed the need for more detailed budget tracking beyond aggregate gender budget figures and argued that gender empowerment cannot be addressed through a "piecemeal approach", requiring adequate attention in electoral debates. 

He also highlighted the burden of unpaid care work, high rates of young women classified as NEET (Not in Employment, Education, or Training), and the particular vulnerabilities faced by female migrant workers.

Challenges and reform priorities

Nubayra Jeheen, programme analyst-Gender Statistics at UN Women Bangladesh, explained that gender-responsive budgeting ensures that public spending meets the differing needs of all genders.

She noted that although 44 ministries produce gender budget reports, the data quality and alignment with the SDGs and climate budget coding need improvement to support transformative change.

Rekha Saha, secretary at Central Legal Aid, Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, highlighted demands centred on women's participation, economic empowerment, decision-making representation, and evolving gender budgeting priorities that reflect the experiences of marginalised groups.

Panellist Tasnim Zeben Bentea Sheikh, deputy secretary of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, emphasised the need for effective policy implementation through needs-based projects, targeted interventions informed by research and robust monitoring systems to ensure gender budget allocations address real needs.

Panellist Ferdousi Sultana, member of the Women's Affairs Reform Commission, highlighted capacity gaps among implementing agencies and local governments, calling for sector-specific linkages, market analyses, and training aligned with current needs, while stressing a lifecycle approach to inclusive budgeting.

Maria Stridsman, head of Development Cooperation at the Embassy of Sweden, who was present at the dialogue as the guest of honour, observed that budgets inherently reflect societal values and stereotypes, necessitating diverse skills and strong communication to overcome resistance. 

She urged Bangladesh to fully embrace gender budgeting amid ongoing reforms.

Special Guest Abul Kalam Azad, joint secretary of the Economic Relations Division, positioned GRB within the broader context of financial reform.

He highlighted the need for more investment in underfunded areas, such as women's economic participation, and for leveraging digital tools and civil society engagement as Bangladesh transitions from development aid to deeper economic cooperation.