Gender budgeting in the crossroad of gender policy and public financial management: The Finnish case

Abstract

IMPACT: Finland has been using gender budgets (GB) for over 10 years; however, very little is known internationally about the Finnish GB experience. Finland’s experience provides several lessons for GB practitioners in other countries. It highlights the importance of clear national gender equality goals for effective GB implementation, as well as the need to pay attention to mid-term fiscal frameworks. It also shows how the lack of feminist economic expertise and a clear conceptual framework can reduce GB to technical processes and calculations, and the importance of outside-government actors drawing attention to the gendered impacts of economic policies. ABSTRACT: The paper analyses the implementation of gender budgeting (GB) in Finland. It contributes to GB literature through shedding light on the dynamics of politicization and depoliticization in GB implementation, as well as the complex position of GB between gender equality policy and public financial management. The paper provides new insights on what the shift towards mid-term budgetary frameworks means for GB, which to date have been missing from the GB literature. It also addresses the relationship of gender mainstreaming and GB, as well as the role of civil society in re-politicizing GB through drawing attention to the impacts of economic policies.