Women are critical actors in climate change adaptation and their knowledge and capacity must be recognised to strengthen climate actions. Gender-responsive budgeting was introduced in Nepal over a decade ago to ensure gender equality and equity in development. A gender-responsive budget committee was also set up at the ministerial level to guide and support gender-inclusive budgeting. However, mainstreaming gender perspectives into local budgeting processes remains a challenge. To move forward, an enabling environment is needed that supports the efficient use of financial resources and harnesses the transformative potential of gender-inclusive actions to support investment in climate change adaptation.

This policy brief discusses the major knowledge gaps being faced by local government decision-makers for gender-responsive budgeting, and highlights the challenges in programme planning and design. It gives recommendations for effectively sharing relevant knowledge with decision-makers to strengthen the implementation of gender-responsive strategies and build a sustainable and climate-resilient society.

The policy brief is based on a review of literature on gender-responsive budgeting in government policies and plans in Nepal and also discussions conducted with experts through online dialogues under CDKN’s Knowledge Accelerator project. Meetings were held with experts and local leaders to understand the knowledge gaps that hinder the efficient implementation of gender-responsive budgeting.

Download the policy brief here.