Members of Parliament have called for stronger use of evidence and gender analysis in public budgeting, stressing that gender-responsive budgeting is not about dividing resources equally between men and women, but allocating them according to actual needs and existing gaps.
The issue was discussed during a consultative dialogue on gender, triple roles, and gender-responsive public financial management and budgeting organised by the Forum for Women Parliamentarians (FFRP) in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Rwanda at Parliament on Thursday, May 21.
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Speaking at the event, Fatmata Lovetta Sesay, UNDP Resident Representative in Rwanda, said budgeting should focus on whether public spending responds to the realities and needs of citizens.
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"Gender-responsive budgeting is not about creating separate budgets for women. It is about asking fundamental questions: who benefits, who is left behind, and whose needs are prioritised," she said.
"What impact will public expenditure have on women and men differently? Those questions are central to how we make budgets make a difference."
Sesay said Rwanda's progress on gender equality had gone beyond representation and influenced governance and policymaking.
"Rwanda remains the number one country globally in terms of women's representation in Parliament," she said, noting that women currently occupy nearly 64 per cent of seats in the Chamber of Deputies.
She said women's leadership had strengthened inclusiveness in policymaking, social protection, and citizen-centred governance.
"The real success lies in how women's leadership has transformed governance itself," she said.
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The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Gertrude Kazarwa, said Rwanda had made significant progress on gender equality, but challenges remained.
"This dialogue comes at the right time as Rwanda continues efforts to promote gender equity," she said.
"The progress achieved is significant, but there is still a long journey ahead to ensure gender equality is fully realised."
Kazarwa said the discussions would help identify remaining gaps, especially in budgeting and implementation.
"When gender equality is considered in budgeting, it helps reduce the gap between men and women and allows them to develop together," she said.
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Silas Ngayaboshya, Director General of Gender Promotion and Women Empowerment at the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion (MIGEPROF), highlighted how social norms continue to affect women's participation in economic and public life.
He said many gender roles were socially constructed and limited opportunities for both women and men.
"We tell men they are strong, rational and aggressive, and society tends to tolerate even harmful behaviour because they are seen as decision-makers," he said.
Ngayaboshya explained that women often carry unpaid care responsibilities that prevent them from fully participating in economic activities and leadership.
"Women are heavily occupied with household responsibilities, and this limits their ability to develop other talents, participate in meetings, or access economic opportunities," he said.
He added that the burden could lead to stress, poverty, and exclusion from employment opportunities.
Citing women working in tea plantations, he said some are forced to leave work temporarily to breastfeed and are later viewed as unreliable workers.
"There could have been childcare centres nearby to support them," he said.
Under the National Strategy for Transformation (NST2), Rwanda aims to reduce unpaid care work and promote responsible social norms, decent work, and equal participation, he added.
Economist Johnson Bosco Rukundo said gender budgeting should be driven by evidence rather than equal numerical distribution.
"When people hear gender, they often think only about women, but it concerns the different roles and needs of both women and men," he said.
He said some institutions still focus on equal allocation instead of assessing actual demand.
"You can find schools building the same number of toilets for girls and boys even when girls make up 80 per cent of the students," he said.
"That focuses on equality rather than actual need."
Rukundo also pointed to weaknesses in planning and data management, especially at district level, where planners are often overloaded.
"There is a need for a centralised data system so districts can update information more efficiently," he said.
Lawmakers raised concerns about gaps between policy commitments and implementation.
MP Odette Uwamariya, chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on State Budget and Patrimony, said institutions now submit gender budget statements alongside draft budgets during parliamentary hearings under the 2021 National Gender Policy.
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She said budget execution rates had improved, with institutions discussed so far recording execution rates of about 80 per cent in the 2024/2025 fiscal year and 85 per cent so far in the current year.
However, she said many institutions still lacked the skills needed to prepare quality gender budget statements.
"You find that officials understand why gender mainstreaming is important, but the analysis is weak and the same issues return every year," she said.
Senator Marie-Rose Mureshyankwano questioned the follow-up after annual gender audits.
"The Gender Monitoring Office conducts audits every year, but what happens afterwards?" she asked.
"There is still a gap in accountability after the findings are released."
MP Egide Nkuranga said women were still often assigned low-skill roles during project implementation despite gender inclusion commitments.
"You may find women on road construction projects only waving flags or writing lists," he said.
He added that some contractors argue that assigning women to physically demanding tasks could slow down projects because of strict deadlines and penalties for delays.
