Gender Responsive Planning and Budgeting Assessment in Ethiopia

The assessment examines Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) implementation across federal ministries and five regional governments—Amhara, Oromia, Gambella, Sidama, and Dire Dawa—in key sectors including health, education, agriculture, and trade. The report reveals a mixed picture. While Ethiopia has established strong legal frameworks supporting gender equality, translating policy into practice remains challenging. At the federal level, awareness of GRB is high, but significant gaps exist in technical capacity and practical application. Many officials lack the skills to conduct gender analysis during budget formulation, and the absence of gender-disaggregated expenditure data makes it difficult to track whether resources are reducing gender disparities. Regional variations are stark. Some areas like Dire Dawa show progress, while others like Gambella face substantial hurdles. Most regions continue using outdated line-item budgeting systems rather than gender-responsive programme budgets. Even when sectors identify gender priorities—such as improving girls' education access or supporting women farmers—these plans frequently lack dedicated budget allocations. 

The study identifies critical barriers: weak accountability mechanisms, insufficient technical expertise, fragmented institutional structures, and the absence of gender-disaggregated data for monitoring impacts. Sectors often treat gender equality as secondary rather than a core budgeting concern. The report offers concrete recommendations including standardized GRB implementation across all government levels, enhanced capacity building, improved data collection systems, stronger accountability frameworks, and increased budget allocations for gender-specific initiatives to transform Ethiopia's commitment to gender equality into measurable results.