#MTBPS2022: Developing a feminist agenda for public finance

There is a currently much movement in South Africa, driven by different people, organisations, donors, and state structures to implement actions for Gender-Responsive Budgeting (GRB) or an intersectional feminist approach to public finance – Feminist Public Finance (FPF). This follows growing feminist action and movement towards realising intersectional gender justice in the country. Because of the range of places that the work for gendered budget justice has emerged; in these multiple spaces, similar concepts are being developed, meanings are being given to these, and different lessons are being learnt.

There is thus an opportunity for sharing and learning about the similarities and the divergence between the developing ideas and actions.

The Womxn and Democracy Initiative, Dullah Omar Institute; SECTION27; and the Institute for Economic Justice are all active members of the Budget Justice Coalition. Our organisations have independently planned work to strengthen feminist, intersectional and/or gendered work relating to economic and public finance issues, which led to this collaboration.

Objective
To create a platform for increasing shared understandings of an agenda for intersectional gender responsive budgeting (GRB) or feminist public finance (FPF) over the medium term.

This workshop should establish direction for the content of future engagements 1) among the organisations present at the workshop; 2) among a broader range of civil society structures–such as allied social movements, localised activist formations, and so forth; and 3) with government structures.

Outcomes
The day’s workshop programme should result in the following outcomes.

1. Collective thinking on the meaning and scope of the ideas of ‘intersectional GRB’ and ‘feminist public finance’ (FPF) is increased among BJC and other organisations present.
2. Participants have increased knowledge on the purpose of, and opportunities to influence, the MTBPS and budget cycles.
3. Increased information and understanding that, and of how, intersectional GRB/FPF applies beyond budget allocations and expenditure to include questions of raising revenue (taxes), borrowing and public debt, and other ‘macro’ finance decisions.
4. Discussions that bring the three layers of, 1) gender/intersectionality; 2) climate change; and 3) public finance into a single conversation.
5. Ideas for collective strategies to increase the potential of government’s current GRB initiatives starting with #MTBPS2022.

Read the concept note for the workshop.