This is the eighth in a series of briefing documents for the media from the RELAY programme. RELAY works with Southern print and broadcast journalists to communicate the findings of academic research in an accessible way. This issue focuses on the links between taxation and governance. Copyrights. Panos London, November 2009

Integrated national financing frameworks (INFFs) were first introduced in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda to support increased alignment of financing from all sources with national sustainable development objectives.  The technical guidance aims to support countries to integrate gender equality objectives and gender analysis into the design and implementation of INFFs.

This paper by Stephanie Seguino, University of Vermont Date in March 2009 argues that the economic and financial crisis provides an opportunity to rethink the role of government in the economy. The author suggests that addressing the economic crisis requires among other interventions a direct focus on women's well-being. Women are likely to be targeted first for jobs layoffs, but have the fewest reserves with which to shield themselves and their children from the drop in income. Targeting public...

This brief explores the relevance of civil society budget analysis and advocacy (i.e., budget work) and its potential as a tool to hold governments accountable for their maternal mortality reduction commitments. In doing so, it discusses three recent examples of civil society groups engaged with budget analysis and advocacy: Fundar, Center for Analysis and Research in Mexico; Women's Dignity in Tanzania; and the Center for Budget and Governance Accountability in India. The work of these...

'The State of Gender Lens Investing' presents a survey of the current state of the field, makes sense of tensions and trends in the field and recommends directions and action by a wide variety of participants, such as philanthropists, investors, nonprofit leaders, policymakers, entrepreneurs, activists and academics.

This document, written for the Netherlands Council of Women, describes how gender responsive budgeting should be used for Water resource management.

The publication produced by AWID provides the latest analysis on the funding trends impacting women’s rights organizing and the financial status of women’s organizations around the world. Based on a survey of over 1,100 women’s organizations in every region of the world, the report helps make sense of the rapidly changing funding landscape and makes recommendations for how to mobilize more and better resources for women’s rights organizing through a feminist collective resource mobilization...

The purpose of this GTZ working paper is to provide guidance for the mainstreaming of a gender approach in new aid architecture and aid modalities. The author argues that gender equality is still not being adequately addressed or mainstreamed in current aid architecture and modalities. In practice, this offers an opportunity to incorporate gender into the new modalities as a guide for action, based on the principles set forth in the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the Accra...

Considering revenue collection and taxation as a strategy in work for women's rights and poverty alleviation is important. Different forms of taxation, and the complexities of taxation systems, frequently include a number of gender biases. For example, consumption taxes may be biased against poor women who spend a larger proportion of their incomes on consumption goods. It is important to understand and eliminate these biases for both gender and social equity. This paper is intended to provide...

This review of current patterns of planning and funding in post-conflict settings reveals a persistent gender bias, in which women's needs and issues are systematically underfunded. The paper addresses a wide range of questions in the broad area of planning and financing for gender equality in post-conflict settings. It presents findings from several studies conducted by the United Nations Development Fund for Women(UNIFEM, part of UN Women) on the inclusion of women's needs and issues in...