Are Gender Budgets Necessary for Reducing Inequalities in Health Outcomes? An Exploratory Analysis

Abstract Achieving gender equality and empowerment has been a global goal for many years and since 2015 has been the focus of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well. Given the challenges in reducing gender inequality, there was a global consensus that national budgets should specifically focus on gender. Australia was the first country to initiate gender budgeting or gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) and presented a Women’s Budget Statement at a meeting of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Working Party on Women and the Economy in February 1985.