Glossary

Central budget authority: this is the entity in central/federal government usually responsible, among other, for putting together the budget and dispensing resources to line departments to execute the budget. In most countries the CBA is the Ministry of Finance. The nature of the budget process in Australia means that there is not one CBA, but three separate central agencies that have powerful and unique roles in the budget process: the Department of Finance, the Treasury, and PM&C.

Central gender equality institution: central gender equality institutions are bodies that are tasked with promoting, co-ordinating and facilitating the gender equality policy. There is no single blueprint for the design of these institutions. Arrangements across the OECD include having a full ministry dedicated to gender equality, having a gender equality unit within ministries responsible for social policy, having a gender equality unit with the centre of government, or having an independent agency or commission (OECD, 2019[1]).

Co-ordination draft: the co-ordination draft (or draft for co-ordination comments) represents one of the two mandatory consultation processes during the development of Cabinet submissions in Australia, together with the exposure draft. As part of this process, interested departments and agencies are given the opportunity to provide a formal comment on the submission after it has been approved by the sponsoring minister. The co-ordination comments form part of the final submission and provide a means for the Cabinet to receive the views of departments and agencies on proposals and the existence and depth of disagreement between departments (Commonwealth of Australia, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2022[2]).

Exposure draft: in Australia, an exposure draft is a working draft which invites comment and suggested changes and additions to all aspects of a policy proposal under discussion in the Cabinet. It can be circulated prior to approval by the sponsoring minister(s). It greatly assists in refining the final submission and thereby focusing the resultant Cabinet consideration. The exposure draft is one of the two mandatory consultation processes during the development of Cabinet submissions in Australia, together with the draft for co-ordination comments (Commonwealth of Australia, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2022[2]).

Gender budgeting: gender budgeting is a practice used to ensure that the budget, as far as possible, reflects the priorities of the government in relation to gender equality. This is not done through creating a separate budget for women’s policies; rather, it is done through encouraging departments to table new policy proposals in line with the government’s priorities, and bringing information to the fore on the gender impact of new policy proposals to support better-informed and more impactful budget decisions.

Gender impact assessments: gender impact assessments are a policy tool for the screening of a given policy, programme, or budget proposal, in order to identify and assess its likely differential impact or effects on women, men, and other people. This is known as ex ante assessment. Gender impact assessments may be also measuring programmatic impacts (results within the framework of public sector performance) rather than impacts at the level of societal change. Gender impact assessments can also be undertaken after the implementation of a given policy, programme or budget at the evaluation stage to understand its gender-specific impacts, also known as ex post assessments (OECD, 2019[1]).

Gender mainstreaming: gender mainstreaming consists of adequately and appropriately taking into account a gender perspective in all policymaking by assessing the implications of any planned action for women, men and other groups in the society. The strategy integrates concerns and experiences of women, men and other groups to the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all of government activity (OECD, 2019[1]; OECD, 2023[3]).

Gender-sensitive policymaking: gender-sensitive policymaking is a form of evidence-informed policymaking as it can provide decision makers with useful information about the anticipated impact of proposed policy and budget measures on different groups in the society. It aims to improve the quality, responsiveness and accessibility of public services. Gender-sensitive policymaking goes beyond implementing targeted policy actions to address specific forms of gender-based discrimination such as pay gaps, gender-based violence and unpaid care responsibilities. It also entails integrating a gender equality perspective across all government actions. This approach helps decision makers collect, use and analyse the best available evidence regarding gender as a social construct and employ multiple sources of information including statistics, data and research to inform their decisions. Key tools of gender-sensitive policymaking include gender impact assessments and gender budgeting (OECD, 2023[4]).

Intersectionality: intersectionality refers to the understanding that individuals have multiple, intersecting identities, which can expose them to different, often overlapping forms of exclusions or disadvantages. Intersectional analysis allows for an enhanced awareness of the significant diversity between individuals that make up any given population or group in policymaking and is increasingly recognised as a strategy for addressing gender inequalities (OECD, 2023[5]).

References

[2] Commonwealth of Australia, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (2022), Cabinet Handbook 15th Edition, https://www.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/resource/download/cabinet-handbook_0_0.pdf.

[4] OECD (2023), Gender Equality in the Czech Republic: Strengthening Government Capacity for Gender-sensitive and Inclusive Recovery, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/c5a3086f-en.

[5] OECD (2023), OECD Review of Gender Equality in Colombia, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/a559fc5e-en.

[3] OECD (2023), Toolkit for Mainstreaming and Implementing Gender Equality 2023, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/3ddef555-en.

[1] OECD (2019), Fast Forward to Gender Equality: Mainstreaming, Implementation and Leadership, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/g2g9faa5-en.