UN Women Turkey carried out gender responsive budgeting seminars together with the Ministry of Family and Social Services 

Conducted under UN Women’s three-year Project implemented together with the Ministry of Family and Social Services (MoFSS), the Seminars on Gender-Responsive Budgeting (GRB) aim to raise awareness of senior managers on the implementation of GRB.

Awareness Raising Seminars on Gender-Responsive Budgeting for senior managers started in Ankara in partnership of UN Women and the Ministry of Family and Social Services (MoFSS). Attended by more than 100 Heads of Departments from around 25 line ministries and central public institutions and organizations, the seminars aim to raise awareness on gender responsive planning and budgeting and develop practices accordingly. Compiled under six sessions, the seminars took place in the first two weeks of October 2021. Seminars provided necessary information to the senior managers to ensure that public institutions' planning and budgeting processes are carried out through a gender responsive perspective. At the launching meeting the Ministry of Family and Social Services, General Director of the Status of Women Gülser Ustaoğlu emphasized the importance of the seminars, “Through our Project on Implementing Gender Responsive Budgeting and Planning in Turkey, we aim to raise awareness and develop capacities of central and local authorities and support efficient monitoring and ensure accountability. We need to continue our efforts to achieve equality between women and men across society, within politics, education, and the economy. Therefore, we need to adopt an equality-based approach to meet different needs and priorities of women and men across public service provision. Within this framework, working with senior managers as our allies and reflecting their different knowledge and experience towards the GRB processes is one of the most critical pillars of our Project. I believe our Project will empower both women and men in our country.”

The seminars were conducted under the Project on “Implementing Gender-Responsive Planning and Budgeting” co-financed by the European Union and UN Women, and implemented by UN Women in collaboration with the Ministry of Family and Social Services and the Republic of Turkey, Presidency of Strategy and Budget. The Project aims to empower women and further strengthen gender equality in Turkey through systematic and sustainable integration of gender perspectives at all stages of national and local policy-making and budgeting processes. Covering the period of 2020-2023, the Project is designed to support women and men's access to equal rights and opportunities through gender responsive budgeting. Within this framework, the seminars target mainstreaming  gender responsive budgeting across public institutions and organizations.

Emphasizing on the Project, UN Women Turkey Programmes Manager, Zeliha Ünaldı said, “The seminars, launched within the scope of the Project will continue to be held in the coming period, increasing in number and diversifying. Our aim is to identify the needs and priorities of women and girls living in Turkey and ensure that the planning and budgeting processes consider their needs. We can only reach a society where everyone can enjoy equal and just rights and opportunities by establishing a sustainable system where everyone’s needs are met.”

What is gender responsive budgeting?

Gender Responsive Budgeting is an application of gender mainstreaming in the budgetary processes. It aims to create a society where gender equality is achieved, and women and men enjoy equal rights, services, and opportunities. GRB enables budgeting and planning processes to incorporate a gender perspective at all levels and meets the di­fferent needs and priorities of women and men.