Sanvada.org - The budget from a gender perspective

The budget from a gender perspective

Infusing gender based policies into the budget, is a fresh concept that is yet to be embraced by a general political consensus or public consideration. However, it has entered the sphere of debate armed with some interesting revelations.

Recently Pathfinder, a research promoting organisation released a report advocating research in policies and activities in selected areas of governance to facilitate the policy makers. Integrating a gender perspective to the national budgetary process in Sri Lanka is the objective of this research exercise.

Several key areas were taken under discussion with the health and education ministries, in particular, being featured prominently among the suggestions. In a gender specific budget, there would policies that target women in particular and place projects that cause gender differentiation, which predictably would be pro-female.

According to the final report released by Pathfinder, the unavailability of gender based data, centrally or regionally, is a major drawback and a challenge in an analysis of the national budget in a gender perspective. In such circumstances, computation of appropriate parameters to understand the consumption pattern of various constituent components of population, and identification of beneficiaries is the challenge at hand.

However, they have taken the 2007 budget allocations into account, the proposed policies in the upcoming budget and recurrent expenditure for education, health and agriculture ministries. The report clearly states that, “the national budget of Sri Lanka does not provide allocations separately for men and women because it is presumably a gender neutral policy statement. Nevertheless, in certain circumstances, it makes specific allocations targeting women, men and children.”

The report cites allocations for maternal and child care services, Pirivena education, Girl Guide, Boy Scout organisations, as some examples. Yet, for a major part of the budgetary allocations, there is a need to understand the objectives of the allocations and the gender based consumption as well as beneficiary impact of the allocations.

The gender issue holds little water as female representation, at the decision making levels of employment, in the Education Ministry as well as in the Departments of Examinations and Publications, was quite low. The report notes that “at the very senior level there was no female representation in all three departments.”

Less than one percent (0.56 %) of the transfers budget were the 9260 handicapped students provided through approximately 850 special education units in government schools employing about 930. Approximately 25 special schools are assisted to provide for the handicapped.

In the education section, the report points out that in Sri Lanka there are 20,345 children who have various types of handicaps. Approximately (54.1%) of female children were affected by blindness and visual impairment, largely located in the Southern and Uva Provinces. In all the other types of identified handicaps, the larger percentage constituted of males. In the Southern and Uva provinces, a larger proportion of mentally retarded, as well as those who had Down syndrome and autistic children were found. Similarly, in Northern, Eastern and Uva provinces there were a larger percentage of children with learning difficulties. Additionally, except in the Western Province, a larger proportion of female children had not been included in the specific handicap category.

Meanwhile, total recurrent expenditure for the Health Ministry in 2007, amounted to approximately Rs.36,322 million, and has been estimated to increase to Rs.40,200 million in 2008. This allocation amounted to 6.1% of the government total recurrent expenditure in 2007 and to 5.5% of the recurrent budget in 2008.

However, allocations for personnel emoluments (52%), medical supplies (33%), and transfers (8%) comprised at least 90% of the total budget of the Ministry of Health and Nutrition. At least 9,656 medical officers, including the administrators and specialists, were employed in an array of hospitals varying from the National Hospital Colombo to the peripheral units currently amounting to 1,021 units. The gender distribution shows that, only a little more than 25% of females were employed at the decision making level – the senior level of employed. The proportion employed at the decision making level of various departments, was even less, amounting to less than 5% of the total employment.

Moving on, the budgetary allocations for the Agriculture and Agrarian Services Ministry amounted approximately to Rs.14,190 million last year and Rs.17,478 million in 2008 and constituted a little more than two percent of the total recurrent expenditure for 2007 and 2008.

Approximately 97% of the Ministry allocations were for development activity projects. In all the institutions investigated, the female share of allocations and the beneficiary impact was less than parity, or, very much less than that proportion. In the Department of Export Agriculture, only a little more than a quarter of allocations for development activity were consumed by the females.

In 2007, approximately 21% of the total allocation for the Ministry of Agriculture was for personnel emoluments. The allocation was reduced by 2% in 2008. The reduction was for salaries and wages and for overtime and holiday payments and other expenses. Nevertheless, there was an allocation for new recruitments in the 2008 budget. The female share of employment was less than parity in all the departments and the least percentage was observed in the Department of Export Agriculture where only 28 % of employment was for females.

At least 77% of the total allocation for the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Services was for transfers. Approximately 88% of the transfers’ allocation was for development subsidies and approximately 12 % for public institutions. Male farmers were the better consumers of these subsidies.

The beneficiary impact of subsidies to farmers has been assumed to be gender neutral, which is not achieved because of a lesser number of participatory farming women.

Policy recommendations

There is a need for a gender aware statistical database to be built up in the sector Ministries, using primary as well as secondary data sources, so that applicable rates’ ratios and other indices can be calculated to understand the gender impact of the budgetary expenditure. Recognition of the need for integrating a gender perspective to the national budgetary process could cast light on the issues involved, including the weakness of routine service statistics collected on policy and programme implementation that would not adequately reflect the actual situation.

Unavailability of gender specific data is a major draw back in comprehending the impact of budgetary allocations for men/women and girls and boys. It is proposed that allocations should be made to collect gender specific data and maintain data bases at the Ministry level, Provincial level and at the Central level. Every project and programme should be made responsible to collect, collate, analyse gender based data and use such data for project/programme planning of the ministries. Even though the respective Ministries are in possession of rich bases, there is a lack of interest in collecting, analysing and disseminating gender based data.

At the project planning stage, an independent body in the private or public sector may be entrusted with the work of analysing and advising the Ministries on gender based issues of the respective projects and programmes.

The Education, Health and Agriculture sectors

These have been the key sectors of female employment creation. Education and Health sectors provide state sponsored service sector employment for service delivery activities of these sectors. Employment opportunities in the Health and Education sectors have been largely at the senior secondary level. Steps should be taken to increase the productivity of this category of employees in the services sectors, through provision of in-service training and infusion of technology.

Female representation at the decision making levels of management and administration in the Ministries investigated, need to be strengthened. Encourage and promote and make avenues for increased female involvement in decision making positions.

The transfers, as property loan to public servants in the line Ministries, were a substantial portion of the allocation. The prevailing social conventions promote male ownership of land. Promote female public servants to use this facility. The gender based data has to be investigated to understand the gender inequality.

Female schooling

The welfare subsidies such as free school text books, free school uniforms available to all primary and secondary level students should be targeted to more deserving male/female students. Currently, at the Primary level of schooling, male students were the higher beneficiaries because the proportion of females were less than the males even though the age cohort of 5-11years show that there are more female children. Female inequality in participation should be investigated as a part of the targeting process.

Give higher priority to school nutritional programmes than to the provision of school uniforms. School uniform programme should be targeted to provide for children coming from low income households.

To effectively target the budgetary transfers to individuals and households, as part of the planning process, investigate the specific circumstances at provincial, district, village level for non participation or unequal participation of girls at the primary level, boys largely at the secondary levels and take remedial action to ameliorate such set backs.

Increase allocations for handicapped children; improve the beneficiary pattern by targeting male/female children with various types of handicaps at the provincial level.
Make necessary financial provisions to encourage more males to take up teaching positions.

Value addition

Agriculture sector has been the main avenue of employment for private sector traditional female farmers working in small holdings. Explore specific opportunities for traditional sector small scale female farmers to increase value through the current diversification process that is taking place.

Focus production of the female farmer on selected crops that have a comparative advantage.

Identify the most suitable areas for the production of these crops and provide the necessary infrastructure and support services for the female/male farmers in these areas.

Promote the integration of crops and livestock and intensive mixed production systems among female farmers.

General recommendations

Increase the efficiency of the service delivery of curative health services through various categories of hospitals by targeting cause specific morbidity and mortality.

Address reasons for high morbidity/mortality levels of males of all ages in the following disease categories where male death rate was much higher than that for female. Hypertensive diseases, ischemic heart diseases, diseases of the respiratory system, diseases of the digestive system, transport accidents, intentional self harm, mental and behavioural disorders.

Target promotion of nutrition and healthcare of infants, children and mothers through increasing efficiency of preventive services. Specific allocations have been made in the Health Ministry budget for maternal and child health through preventive as well as curative health services.

Yet, there are vital health problems among infants, pre-school children and pregnant women which may be attributed to low socio-economic levels, high incidence of preventable diseases, poor nutrition and inadequate child spacing. Take steps to ensure better nutrition among children. Increase and popularise programmes for improving nutritional status of mothers. Promote breast feeding practices as malnutrition or under nutrition continues to be a major problem in Sri Lanka, though an improvement has been recorded since 1993. In 2000, 13.5% of the children under five years were stunted due to chronic malnutrition. The level of under nutrition is reported to be higher in the estate sector.

Child and maternal nutrition

For primary school children, combined programmes to improve and enhance child nutrition can be launched by the joint effort of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education

Combined programmes to promote maternal nutrition can be launched by the Health Ministry preventive services of family health workers and increased involvement of females in the local food production promotion of the Agriculture Ministry.

The beneficiary impact of operational and developmental agricultural aims and objectives with regard to transfer of development subsidies have been assumed to be gender neutral. Nevertheless, gender neutrality is not achieved because of lesser number of participatory farming women.

Take steps to popularise and increase participation of farming women in the farming women agricultural extension programmes and increase funding for such programmes.
Take steps to popularise the membership farming organisations among women and increase the membership of women in these organisations.

The Bottom Line - Uditha Jayasinghe

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