ABSTRACT

Because gender inequality is multidimensional and multisectoral, the financial costs of efforts to reduce it are difficult to calculate. Apart from a recent effort piloted by the UN Millennium Project, there have been few comprehensive attempts nationally or globally to estimate these costs. In the late 1990s many governments developed plans to implement the recommendations of the Beijing Program for Action, but few were backed by adequate resources. Yet knowing the resource requirements for implementing gender plans of action is critical. Recognizing this as a serious problem, women's organizations around the world called for tools and methodologies that can be used in discussions with governments and other agencies to identify the financing requirements for interventions to reduce gender bias and empower women.