These high-level meetings have become a dialogue platform for the discussion of the latest developments, changes and best practices in gender-responsive planning and budgeting of the OECD countries. Much attention was paid to the hands-on approaches to incorporating gender aspects into the national planning and budgeting systems.

The participants of the meetings included high-level public officials, including Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Finance of Austria, members of the Austrian Parliament, representatives of the Austrian Court of Audit, Federal Ministry of Civil Service and Sport, Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research. Among other attendees were leading specialists from the Ministries of Finance and Economic Development of twenty-five OECD countries dealing with gender-responsive budgeting, international organizations and EU research Institutions.

Kazakhstan’s delegation took part at the meetings in the framework of the study tour on gender-responsive planning and budgeting to the Republic of Austria, held on 18 – 22 June 2018. Representatives of the National Commission on Women Affairs, Family and Demographic Policy under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Ministry of National Economy and Ministry of Finance took part in the bilateral meetings with the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance, Federal Ministry on Women, Family and Youth Affairs, Federal Ministry of State Service and Sport, Budget Office of the Parliament and Austrian Institute of Economic Research.

Kazakhstan’s state bodies got familiarized with general policy and strategy of gender-responsive budgeting, integration processes of gender aspects into national planning and budgeting systems, system of gender impact assessment of the Austrian state bodies, etc. Kazakhstan’s authorities also got acquainted with the work of the Austrian Court of Audit, which conducts audits of the state bodies for consistency of the national strategies, programmes and budgets with the principles of gender equality, stipulated in the Constitution. The delegation also had an opportunity to study the work of the Interagency Working group of the central executive bodies on gender issues, as well as current legislative initiatives and projects in this sphere.

«Austrian experience is unique as gender-responsive budgeting was a starting point for the advancement of gender policy in the country. Undoubtedly, the obtained knowledge, networking and partnership opportunities are of great importance for accelerating the development and implementation of gender-responsive budgeting in Kazakhstan”, said Deputy Chairman of the National Commission on Women Affairs, Family and Demographic Policy under the President of Kazakhstan Yelena Tarassenko.

The study visit was organized by UN Women Kazakhstan in the framework of the project on strengthening the national system for gender-responsive planning and budgeting. It is expected, that the implementation of this initiative will positively impact on introducing gender aspects into the system of state programming, planning and budgeting, increase their transparency and effectiveness for the benefit of interests, rights and opportunities of all the citizens of Kazakhstan.