FAFIA launched its gender budgeting project in October 2007 with the support of Oxfam Canada and the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario. This project has a national focus and relies on the ongoing engagement of many of FAFIA’s members and partners who are dedicated to substantive equality in Canada.

Gender budgeting addresses women’s inequality by examining a government’s budgets through a gender lens and, in particular, where its tax and spending priorities lie.

In 2005, FAFIA commissioned the work of noted economist Armine Yalnizyan to offer a 10 year retrospective gender based analysis of federal budgets from 1995-2004. This analysis revealed that the federal government’s decreased investment in social spending had a disproportionately negative effect on women. Further, the majority of new investments during this period did not proportionately benefit women

FAFIA’s current gender budgeting initiative aims to address how Canada’s fiscal policies have widened the income gap between men and women and, in some cases, actually serve to exacerbate women’s social and economic inequality in Canada.

FAFIA has been working with the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women to support their extensive study of gender budgeting. Please see the following link for more information on the Standing Committee’s meetings and transcripts for the gender budgeting study:

http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/cmte/CommitteeList.aspx?Lang=1&PARLSES=392&JNT=0&SELID=e21_&COM=13186 [1]

We have also identified recent budgetary measures that reduce women’s economic security (such as income splitting and related tax initiatives) and/or constrain the spending capacity of the federal government to invest in key programs which address inequalities. For more details on these, please see the issue sheets below.

FAFIA has also been active at the 52nd meeting of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, the theme of which was “Financing for Women’s Equality”. We learned that while Canada encourages the use of gender budgeting by many countries around the world, its own efforts in this area been extremely modest and are in need of great improvement.

Should you have any questions regarding the gender budgeting work within FAFIA, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@fafia-afai.org [2]

FAFIA’s Submissions re: Federal Budget 2008

FAFIA’s Submission to Alternative Budget 2008 [3]

FAFIA’s response to the Economic Update 2007 [4]

FAFIA Submission to Standing Committe of Finance, Pre-Budget Consultations November 2007 [5]

FAFIA Submission to Finance Canada On-line Pre-Budget Consultations February 2008 [6]

Issue Papers

FAFIA’s Gender Budgeting Overview [7]

Why Tax Policy Matters to Women [8]

Gender Budget Tax Measures and Income Supports [9]

Income Splitting: Facts and FAQ’s [10]

FAFIA Briefing Paper on Income Splitting [11]

Gender Budgeting and Housing [12]

Gender Budgeting and Employment Insurance [13]

Gender Budgeting and Child Care [14]

Women’s Economic Security [15]