This a summary booklet based on Diane Elson's book Monitoring Government Budgets for Compliance with CEDAW. It articulates what it means to take an explicitly rights-based approach to government budgets and draws on the lessons of gender budget initiatives (GBI) around the world. It links governments' commitments under CEDAW with the four main dimensions of budgets: revenue, expenditure, macroeconomics of the budget, and budget decision-making processes. It makes these links to help clarify how gender budget analysis can assist in monnitoring a government's compliance with CEDAW; identifying how CEDAW can be used to set equality-enhancing criteria in budget activities; and guiding GBIs and other initiatives towards achieving gender equality.
This booklet is an advocacy and action tool for key stakeholders in the area of government budgets and women's human rights, including policy and lawmakers at the country level, and gender and human rights advocates.