BAN Hosts Workshop on Gender-Responsive Budgeting

The Budget Advocacy Network (BAN) recently organized a three-day workshop on gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) for government officials, civil society organizations, and media representatives. The workshop, held in Freetown from April 8-10, 2025, aimed to build capacity for implementing gender-responsive approaches in Sierra Leone's public financial management systems.

Understanding Gender-Responsive Budgeting

Gender-responsive budgeting is not a separate budget for women, but rather an approach that analyzes the different impacts of budget allocations on women, men, and various demographic groups. It ensures that budget policies and allocations respond to the needs of all citizens, particularly marginalized groups.

During the opening ceremony, BAN's Executive Director emphasized the importance of GRB in achieving gender equality: "When we incorporate gender considerations into the budget process, we ensure that public resources benefit everyone equitably. This is not just about women's issues, but about creating inclusive economic development that leaves no one behind."

Workshop Highlights

The workshop featured presentations from local and international experts on gender budgeting methodologies, case studies from other African countries, and practical sessions on budget analysis from a gender perspective. Participants worked in groups to analyze sectoral budgets in education, health, agriculture, and social protection, identifying gaps and opportunities for gender mainstreaming.

Key topics covered during the workshop included:

• Tools and methodologies for gender budget analysis
• Sex-disaggregated data collection and utilization
• Gender impact assessments of fiscal policies
• Strategies for advocacy around gender-responsive budgeting
• Monitoring implementation of gender budget commitments

Government Commitment

A representative from the Ministry of Finance expressed the government's commitment to institutionalizing gender-responsive budgeting across all ministries, departments, and agencies. "The government recognizes that addressing gender inequalities through the budget is essential for achieving our development goals. We are working to strengthen the GRB circular and ensure that all MDAs comply with gender considerations in their budget submissions."

Next Steps

Following the workshop, BAN will work with selected government departments to pilot gender-responsive budget statements for the upcoming fiscal year. The network will also develop simplified guidelines and training materials for civil society organizations to effectively monitor gender responsiveness in budget implementation.

The initiative is part of BAN's broader strategic intervention on gender mainstreaming in public financial management, which aims to create more equitable resource allocation and improve service delivery for all citizens of Sierra Leone.