Which countries increased budget allocations for women empowerment?
Answers
On average, low income countries collect more than four times as much revenue from value added taxes (VAT) as from personal income taxes. Middle-income countries are rapidly approaching the same level.VAT takes the largest share from those with the lowest incomes – where women are overrepresented in every country [1].
Over 40 countries at all development levels implement flat-rate personal income taxes which have negative effects for low income populations. As women predominate in low income groups, these taxes often result in tax increases for poor women [2].
At the national level, resources allocated to address gender equality are consistently low. For example, a review of spending in 24 countries from North, Central, South America and the Caribbean found allocations to eliminate violence against women are less than 1 per cent of the national budget [3]
Effects of these types of fiscal policies can be seen across economic, political and social life. For example, in 2018 the global average gender gap in economic participation and opportunity was 41.9 per cent. Further, in 2018 based on data from 149 countries, only 58 per cent of this gap was closed which represented minimal progress and the lowest value measured by the Global Gender Gap Index since 2008 [4]
Integrating gender equality into governance systems, including planning and budgeting, contributes to progress towards national gender equality objectives.