Advancing Gender Responsive Budgeting in Western Balkans

Although public budgets affect women and men differently — yet they often overlook gender specific needs. Gender-Responsive Budgeting (GRB) is a powerful tool to ensure that public resources are allocated and spent fairly, promoting inclusion and equality.This publication highlights UN Women’s work to advance GRB across Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, and Serbia. Through a five-pillar approach spanning policy planning, budgeting, implementation, oversight, and inclusive participation—UN Women helps governments embed gender equality throughout the budget cycle. From 2020 to 2025, the initiative has trained over 4,500 officials, supported 98 local governments to adopt GRB practices, and helped integrate gender into more than 200 public programmes. With strong partnerships across ministries, parliaments, civil society, and the media, GRB is creating more equitable budgets that reflect real needs of women and men, boys and girls.

Looking ahead, the focus is on institutionalizing GRB, linking it with public finance reforms, and applying it to key sectors like climate, care, and social protection. GRB is not just about better budgeting — it’s a pathway building resilient and inclusive societies.