Women and gender budgeting: Nigeria’s policy alternative

Abstract

This work contributes to the policy debate on women empowerment through gender budgeting and equally exposes the inherent negative impacts of the current budgeting system, and how it could help facilitate gender equity and open up economic opportunities for women. Gender inequalities thrive in all societies but are more prevalent in developing countries. This is as a result of less attention paid by policy makers to the socio-economic landscape made up by a diversity of vulnerable groups such as women and children. This paper examined perspectives underpinning feminism, processes and approaches to public policy and implementation, and various policy issues reinforcing gender inequality. The work analyzed three policy paradigms as well as gender budgeting analysis using Sen and Nassbaum capability approach. Of the three policies alternatives examined, strategic planning, which this work recommends is a relatively practical paradigm of public policy making, that in many ways, reconciles the differing perspectives of the other two paradigms. Through the use of Sen and Nussbaum‟s capability, the work acknowledges that the current system of budgeting at the federal level has continued to create gender disparity, thereby conscripting economic space for women; and consequently putting them at a disadvantage in every sector of economic and productive life. The result has been abject poverty in the various communities. The study was also able to identify the critical issues affecting gender inequalities in Nigeria, which permeates all the levels of government. It ended with policy recommendations to redress this anomaly.