Gender Budgeting

This tool contains four main steps.

• Step 1: alignment with the strategic goals for gender equality (e.g. EU-level goals including the new directive on work–life balance with national gender equality policies and/or plans).
• Step 2: identifying possible interventions in the ESF+ and ERDF that can advance work-life balance.
• Step 3: developing interventions to advance work-life balance. 
• Step 4: following up, using indicators within monitoring and evaluation systems. These indicators should be qualitative, quantitative and financial (as this last is key to tracking financing for work-life balance).

These steps offer a starting point for formulating PAs and OPs that reflect:

• the EU’s overarching policy objectives on women’s and men’s equal rights and opportunities to employment in the labour market;
• tie-in cross-fund activities;
• robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks to report on work-life balance advancements from a gender perspective.