News Releases

IGDS St. Augustine Unit issues call for Gender Responsive Budgeting

For Release Upon Receipt - October 12, 2018

St. Augustine


Following the 2019 Budget Statement presented by the Minister of Finance, the Honourable Colm Imbert on October 1, The UWI’s Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS) St. Augustine Unit, under its Head, Dr. Gabrielle Hosein, has issued a call for Gender Responsive Budgeting via the following statement:

It is clear that many of the policies and programmes put forward by the Minister of Finance in his budget statement has failed to consider that every dollar will land on men and women differently. The Government of Trinidad and Tobago allocated total expenditure projected at $51.77Bn and a projected oil price of $65usd per barrel. The budget is one of the most influential tools a government has to respond to the needs of its population and it must be inclusive and relevant.

But a nation cannot say it is committed to gender equality by only funding specific programmes for women and men. Governments must understand how measures such as subsidy cuts and debt servicing can significantly undermine gender justice and equality or even result in gender inequality. At the very least, national fiscal policy and planning must be held accountable for how it addresses the causes and effects of the socio-economic challenges of everyday life.

A case for Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) is being made because budgets are about how everyone is affected daily, in their pockets and their kitchens. GRB accounts for beyond the numbers to investigate the different needs, experiences, challenges, and access to power of women and men in every dollar they spend, to create equal opportunities and equal benefit from public funds.

The IGDS will continue to advocate for advancing GRB because it is budgeting for inclusion. The process of GRB will undoubtedly improve accountability, efficiency and effectiveness of programmes, the Government and its agencies, and accelerate the implementation of commitments to gender equality and gender justice.

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About the Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS)

The Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS) is an autonomous unit located in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor of the University and is not attached to any faculty. This underlines its relevance to all disciplines and facilitates collaboration with all faculties. The IGDS consists of a Regional Co-ordinating Office (RCO) located on The University of the West Indies’ Mona Campus, and three Campus Units — at Cave Hill, Barbados (Nita Barrow Unit); at Mona, Jamaica (Mona Campus Unit); and at St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago (St. Augustine Unit).

 

About The UWI

Since its inception in 1948, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged, regional University with well over 40,000 students. Today, The UWI is the largest, most longstanding higher education provider in the Commonwealth Caribbean, with four campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Open Campus. The UWI has faculty and students from more than 40 countries and collaborative links with 160 universities globally; it offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology, Social Sciences and Sport. The UWI’s seven priority focal areas are linked closely to the priorities identified by CARICOM and take into account such over-arching areas of concern to the region as environmental issues, health and wellness, gender equity and the critical importance of innovation. Website: www.uwi.edu

 

(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)

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