Gender Responsive and Participatory Budgeting (GRPB) in Penang

What is Gender Responsive and Participatory Budgeting (GRPB)? 
Gender Responsive and Participatory Budgeting (GRPB) is depicted from two parts that are, Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) & Participatory Budgeting (PB). According to the UN Women, GRB  is a strategy that creates budgets that work for everyone. By considering and analyzing the unique and diverse needs of every person, gender-responsive budgets strive for a fair distribution of resources.  Whereas, PB is a form of citizen participation in which citizens are involved in the process of deciding how public money is spent. Local people are often given a role in the scrutiny and monitoring of the process following the allocation of budgets.

 GRPB in Penang 
Gender Responsive and Participatory Budgeting (GRPB) programe ensures the needs of both women and men in Penang are met, with the tagline “Different People, Different Needs”. It makes government budgeting processes more gender-responsive, participatory, and inclusive for diverse communities across the state.
As a flagship program of Gender Inclusiveness Policy (GIP) launched in March 2019, GRPB is now fully implemented at the Penang State and Local Governments. GRPB approach links communities, agencies, all levels of government, and bridges the gap between service users and service providers.

Objectives of GRPB:

 Includes all stakeholders in budget planning and delivery
 Responsive to the different needs of different people
 Allows data to support better and more informed policies
 Strengthens the linkages between economic and social policy outcomes

 GRPB Implementers in Penang 
Penang Women's Development Corporation (PWDC) works closely with the State Government and Local Government to mainstream gender. As valued added partners, PWDC often functions as a consultant for integration of gender perspectives as well as women’s rights and good governance.

GRPB’s tagline “Different People, Different Needs” helps authorities and local communities to recognize the different needs of different people, including women and men, girls, and boys.

PWDC team works with all heads of government departments and agencies to implement the budgeting and collect sex-disaggregated data.

Workshops are also conducted for the local councils and communities to iron out the workings of implementing GRPB.

Pulau Pinang