Using Fiscal Policy and Public Financial Management to Promote Gender Equality

6Asia

A survey of gender budgeting efforts¹

I. Introduction

Gender inequality remains pervasive in Asia, though progress is evident in all the countries of the region. Two of the largest countries, India and China, have marked gender imbalances in the number of children born, giving rise to the so-called “missing women” problem (Klasen and Wink, 2003). The nature of gender-related concerns varies across the Asian region, ranging from redressing female disadvantages or unmet needs in education and health, to addressing the lack of equal opportunities in paid employment, to grappling with the burden of the unpaid care economy on women’s efforts to advance in all spheres of life.

Twenty-nine countries in the Asian region have some type of gender ...