For the first time in history, a gender-sensitive budget has been sent to Parliament in Argentina.
A fact that can well be interpreted as a “declaration of principle” by the current government. The “law of laws”, as is often called the national budget in the country, set priorities, goals, allocat resources and define public policies.
Thus, the proposal contained in the 2021 Budget is that state action will actively contribute to reducing the gaps between women and men in the country.
Sol Prieto, coordinator of the Gender Budget area of the National Directorate of Economy, Equality and Gender of the Argentine Ministry of Economy.
“There is no gender-neutral public policy, every public policy tool has gender effects,” says DW Sol Prieto, PhD in Social Sciences and Coordinator of the Gender Perspective Budget Area of the Ministry of Economy’s National Directorate of Economy, Equality and Gender. “Just when policies are intended to be neutral, what they end up doing is reproducing inequality,” Prieto adds
“Visibility of these inequalities is the first step in being able to respond to those gaps that exist,” he says.
Gaps in numbers
Gender inequalities have different aspects. On the one hand, they are found in terms of work, as women and boys face the labour market in unequal conditions. Also, in terms of income, because women receive less income than their male peers at all occupational levels and conditions. And especially in terms of time and care: women perform more than three-quarters of household chores and unpaid care. Nearly 90% of women participate in these tasks and spend an average of more than 6 hours a day, while less than 60% of males take care of these jobs, and those who do, dedicate just over 3 hours a day to them.
Women perform more than three-quarters of household and unpaid care tasks in Argentina.
How to reduce inequality?
The budget aims to reduce these gaps by a battery of 55 specific measures, whose resources amount to 15.2% of the total budget, and 3.4% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Policies range from the construction of care spaces and maternal gardens, to the strengthening of departures aimed at preventing and eradicating gender-based violence. But also, and to a large extent, the safeguarding of the planned moratorium.
In this sense, “a policy that we identify as very relevant is the retirement moratorium”, says Sol Prieto to DW, “since in most cases women do not have the years of contributions necessary to retire, not only because of the informality in which many carry out their work, but because of the time they devote to care tasks” Explains. “The moratorium then implies a subsequent recognition of these tasks,” evaluates the Argentine civil service.
Julieta Izcurdia, coordinator of the Fiscal Justice Program of the Civil Association for Equality and Justice.
In methodological terms, the budget picks up and expands the “labelling” of the different programmes, through which any activity defined as “PPG” (“Gender Perspective Budget”) is particularly protected.
“The items labelled improve budgetary transparency and facilitate the monitoring of the Commitments of the National State to the reduction of gender gaps,” says lawyer Julieta Izcurdia, coordinator of the Civil Association for Equality and Justice Fiscal Justice Program, consulted by DW.
“The biggest challenge is the ability to incorporate this approach into all instances of the budget cycle,” he adds.
For her part, the university professor and expert in the subject Paola Bergallo, points out to DW: “This 2021 proposal is a unique step in previous initiatives, because it increases investment in key policies, doubles the items labeled and identifies the expenditure of non-traditional areas, such as those of the Ministries of Economy, Public Works, and Science and Technology”.
– Paola Bergallo, Professor at Torcuato Di Tella University.
“This is a strategic intervention to consolidate the economic justice and gender agenda,” concludes Bergallo.
Thus, Argentina becomes one of the most advanced Latin American countriesMexico, a pioneer in the subject matter, Bolivia and Ecuador.
From now on, it remains to be seen the fate that the Argentine Congress will print on the initiative.
