Gender-responsive budgeting as a pathway to equity and inclusion in Algeria

Gender-responsive budgeting as a pathway to equity and inclusion in Algeria 

Introduction

In conflict-affected and unstable regions, governments often prioritise military spending under the aegis of ensuring national security, particularly in areas facing ongoing or potential regional conflicts. Algeria exemplifies this trend. Its military budget has steadily increased, year after year. This persistent emphasis on defence comes at the expense of essential social services, which are crucial, among other things, for fostering gender equality and long-term societal stability. As a result, critical programmes that support health care, education and economic opportunities remain underfunded, deepening existing inequalities. Women and marginalised communities bear the brunt of these decisions, struggling to access basic services that could improve their lives. 

In patriarchal societies, resistance to reform is particularly strong, hindering progress towards meaningful gender equity. As a result, the most vulnerable populations may be overlooked and underserved, caught up in cycles of exclusion and insecurity. A feminist economic approach challenges these state priorities, pushing for gender-responsive budgeting. This approach integrates gender analysis into public financial management to ensure that government expenditures meet the needs of women and marginalised groups.

In contexts such as post-conflict Algeria, recovery processes often neglect the importance of gender-sensitive economic policies, ultimately reinforcing systemic discrimination. As Diane Elson points out, macroeconomic policies, including public spending decisions, are rarely evaluated through a gender lens. This oversight has led to the exclusion of women's needs in economic reconstruction efforts, leaving them without adequate support in rebuilding their lives and communities.^[1]Gender-responsive budgeting ensures that financial allocations directly address disparities in access to resources, employment and social protections. By targeting these inequalities, it works to counteract the systemic barriers that exclude marginalised groups from economic opportunities and essential services.^[2] A notable example of successful post-conflict gender budgeting is Rwanda’s post-genocide recovery. It illustrates how integrating gender-sensitive economic policies can lead to higher female labour force participation and improved social welfare outcomes. This highlights the importance of using feminist economic strategies in post-conflict settings, demonstrating their role in breaking cycles of exclusion and structural inequality.^[3]

Economic instability resulting from conflict often disrupts the social safety nets that women depend on in the post-conflict era. Public services such as health care, education and social welfare, which are essential for advancing gender equality, are often severely underfunded or even eliminated. This underfunding during the recovery period reflects a broader tendency to undervalue women’s unpaid labour and their vital contributions to society. As these services decline, women face heightened economic exclusion, with limited access to essential needs in terms of education and job opportunities. This further entrenches gender inequality.^[4] A feminist approach to post-conflict economic recovery focuses on addressing the root causes of gender inequality, including women’s access to land, property and credit, key factors in their economic independence. As feminist scholars such as Rania Kora highlight, however, such critical issues are often overlooked when gender analysis is not integrated into policymaking. By implementing gender-sensitive financial planning and gender-responsive budgeting, governments can foster a more inclusive and sustainable economic recovery that prioritises the needs of women and marginalised groups.^[5]

Feminist economics

Feminist economics expands critically upon traditional economics by spotlighting how unpaid and non-market labour – particularly care and domestic work – sustains economies but remains invisible in mainstream models. Marilyn Waring’s If Women Counted systematically challenges the United Nations System of National Accounts for excluding these contributions and ecological resources from GDP measures, which profoundly alters how national income is calculated. Waring’s critique has been recognised as foundational, prompting revisions in economic accounting standards and shaping the discipline of feminist economics.^[6]

Feminist economics also incorporates intersectionality, which highlights how race, class and gender intersect to produce different economic realities, challenging one-size-fits-all policies.^[7] It emphasises the critical role of care work in sustaining economies, and calls for societal and institutional support beyond market valuation. Economist Nancy Folbre, for instance, argues that only collective investment in care – outside pure market structures – can relieve the disproportionate burden placed on women and ensure equitable distribution of care responsibilities. This field has also broadened to critique capitalist structures, propose care-centric macroeconomic models and explore alternative paradigms, such as social provisioning and sustainability frameworks, as summarised in the Routledge Handbook of Feminist Economics.^[8]

Gender budgeting is a key tool in this process.It ensures that public spending and financial planning actively promote gender equality by analysing how resources are allocated and addresses gaps in critical sectors such as health care, education and social protection. In rentier economies with limited foreign funding and strict monetary controls, civil society organisations (CSOs) face financial challenges that hinder their work on gender justice and development. Moreover, conflict disrupts gender-specific data collection, making it difficult to accurately assess economic conditions and implement effective gender-sensitive financial policies in the affected regions.

Research aim

This study aims to explore the transformative role of feminist economics in post-conflict reconstruction, with a particular emphasis on gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) as a critical tool for advancing gender equality and social justice. The central research question guiding this inquiry is: 

How does the integration of gender-responsive budgeting into post-conflict economic recovery strategies address structural inequalities and promote inclusive development, particularly for women and marginalised communities?

While the post-conflict phase lays the foundation for rebuilding, many countries have now entered a relatively stable phase. The long-term success of gender-responsive budgeting depends on its ability to move beyond immediate emergency recovery and to shape ongoing development agendas that continue to empower marginalised groups. By building on the progress made during the initial post-conflict recovery, current policies using gender-responsive budgeting help to sustain momentum towards gender equality and social inclusion, fostering structural transformation rather than applying temporary fixes. This continuity ensures that the advances made during recovery translate into lasting improvements in economic participation, political representation and social welfare for women and other vulnerable populations.

To answer this question, the study recognises that gender inequality does not exist in isolation but is deeply intertwined with other axes of oppression, such as class, ethnicity and historical marginalisation. This approach ensures that the analysis captures the differentiated experiences of women and other vulnerable groups in the post-conflict context, rather than treating them as a monolithic category.

This research also examines the extent to which gender-sensitive policies – particularly gender-responsive budgeting – are incorporated into national economic recovery strategies. To achieve this, the study presents examples from Rwanda as reference points for a more successful and institutionalised model of gender-responsive budgeting implementation. Algeria’s recovery reflects enduring structural inequalities and weak gender-responsive governance, while Rwanda is recognised for its effective gender quotas, strong female political presence and institutionalised gender budgeting.

This paper focuses on specific sectors, namely health care, women’s labour market participation and political representation. This targeted approach allows for a detailed examination of how gender-responsive budgeting operates within key domains that directly impact gender equality and social inclusion.

A key focus is an analysis of the allocation of national budgets to the reproductive health sector, with an emphasis on how these allocations reflect or neglect gender considerations in each country’s recovery process. This sector was selected because of its direct impact on the well-being of women and marginalised communities, and as a critical indicator of social investment in post-conflict settings. While Rwanda offers a compelling example of how gender-responsive budgeting can be institutionalised across health and social sectors to produce tangible results, Algeria’s evolving efforts reveal both opportunities and challenges in applying similar strategies. 

The following sections provide an assessment of gender-responsive budgeting in Algeria, based on an analysis of data and legislation from the post-conflict era, as well as an examination of the health budget. This paper presents a valuable example from Rwanda on how to institutionalise gender equality in public finance and concludes with recommendations to the Algerian government.

Assessing gender-responsive budgeting in Algeria: data gaps, institutional barriers and post-conflict legacies

The experiences of Algeria and Rwanda provide starkly different lessons on the role of gender-responsive strategies in recovery. Algeria’s path reflects the struggles of a nation constrained by limited political will and institutional capacity, in which efforts towards gender equity remain fragmented and slow. In contrast, Rwanda has emerged as a model for post-conflict reconstruction, demonstrating how gender-sensitive budgeting can shape a more inclusive future.^[9]

Algeria’s so-called »Black Decade« (1991–2001) was a profoundly traumatic period, leaving deep scars throughout society. Emerging from 130 years of colonial rule, Algeria was still in the early stages of reconstruction when it was plunged into a brutal civil conflict. This decade not only devastated the country's physical and economic infrastructure but also reshaped its social norms in lasting ways. The conflict reinforced conservative values and significantly altered the nation’s socio-economic fabric, from daily routines to government decision-making processes.

Women bore the brunt of a violent societal regression that redefined gender norms and deeply restricted their rights and freedoms. Islamist militant groups systematically targeted women – especially professionals such as journalists, teachers and lawyers – characterising them as the embodiment of Westernisation and disobedience to conservative values. Women were harassed, kidnapped, raped and sometimes assassinated, while thousands more were forced into early marriages or to withdraw from education and employment.^[10] The violence not only deprived women of physical safety, but also expelled them from public spaces. Even daily movements became risky, reinforcing patriarchal norms that confined women to the domestic sphere.

The legacies of this period are still deeply felt. Many of the social norms that were established during the conflict, such as conservative dress codes and restrictions on women’s presence in public and political life, remain ingrained in Algerian society even today.^[11]The trauma of wartime violence remains largely unaddressed, especially in cases of sexual violence, leaving women with lasting psychological scars and reinforcing generational silence. Although Algeria has introduced political gender quotas and some reforms, meaningful participation remains limited, and gender-based violence continues to be underreported.     ^[12] Challenging these inherited constraints, a new generation of Algerian women activists, artists and journalists is now reclaiming space and rewriting narratives. But they are doing so against a backdrop of unresolved trauma and a state still hesitant to confront its past.     ^[13] 

In Algeria, the prolonged civil conflict (1991–2002) also severely weakened statistical institutions. This has left significant gaps in sex-disaggregated data, particularly with regard to employment and economic participation. Without this crucial data, integrating gender perspectives into budgeting processes remains a challenge, making it difficult to fully grasp the conflict’s economic impact on women.^[14] 

Furthermore, the lack of gender-disaggregated data in Algeria's national budget poses challenges in assessing the specific impact of fiscal policies on women. In 2022, UNFPA allocated 69,904 US dollars towards strengthening data systems and evidence to address inequalities. Of this, the government contributed 25,638 US dollars (37 per cent), while UNFPA contributed 44,266 US dollars (63 per cent). While this indicates some degree of commitment to improving data systems, the overall lack of transparency and detailed reporting in the national budget hinders effective monitoring and evaluation of gender-specific initiatives.^[15]

The Open Budget Survey 2023, conducted by the International Budget Partnership (IBP), rated Algeria’s budget transparency at 15 out of 100, reflecting a very limited availability of detailed budgetary information, including sectoral and gender-specific allocations. Reports submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council during Algeria’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) emphasise significant shortcomings in the accessibility of health services and gender-responsive programming. Key issues include the absence of a comprehensive national strategy to address gender-based violence (GBV) and inadequate budgetary support for related services. These challenges were especially pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[16]

As a resource-rich country, Algeria exhibits many characteristics of a rentier economy. This model enables the authorities to operate with a degree of autonomy from international institutions and to be selective in adopting international standards, such as gender budgeting. In Algeria, foreign funding is heavily restricted, and the monetary system is tightly controlled. As a result, civil society organisations that might advocate for gender budgeting often face severe financial constraints in this challenging environment. It is difficult to imagine how gender-sensitive financial planning might be implemented in Algeria if the government itself does not adopt such an approach, especially because the decision-making process is dominated by men and in particular by conservative actors. As of February 2024, women held 7.9 per cent of the seats in the National People's Assembly (32 out of 407). In the Council of the Nation, women occupied 4.1 per cent of the seats (7 out of 170). Additionally, following the 2024 presidential elections, 11.4 per cent of cabinet ministers were women, with four women appointed to ministerial positions.^[17] 

The missing programmes to promote women's empowerment and equitable distribution of domestic responsibilities will affect a large number of women, given that women and girls aged 10 and above in Algeria spend around a quarter (22.9 per cent) of their time on unpaid care and domestic work.^[18] The disproportionate amount of time women and girls in Algeria spend on unpaid care work is a measurable gender gap that gender budgeting can address. By integrating this data into fiscal planning, the government could allocate resources to services and infrastructure that reduce and redistribute unpaid care, such as child care, elder care and improved access to basic services. Without such gender-responsive allocations, these inequalities will persist, limiting women’s participation in the economy and public life.

According to the latest World Bank data (2024), women make up approximately 18 per cent of Algeria’s total workforce, compared with over 70 per cent for men.^[19] Algeria has enacted laws to promote gender equality, including legislation that mandates equal pay for equal work and prohibits gender-based workplace discrimination. Nonetheless, enforcement of these laws remains inconsistent. Civil society organisations emphasise the need for stronger monitoring frameworks and awareness raising campaigns to challenge societal norms and enhance women’s economic inclusion.^[20]

Gender budgeting could help to bridge the gap between women’s educational achievements and their low labour force participation by ensuring that public resources are allocated to address the structural barriers they face. This would involve integrating gender analysis into all stages of the budget cycle to identify where spending can reduce inequalities. In Algeria, gender budgeting could also prioritise investments that make the private sector more attractive and accessible to women. These might include workplace protections, incentives for hiring and promoting women and infrastructure that reduces unpaid care burdens. By aligning budgetary decisions with gender equality objectives, the government could transform women’s academic gains into meaningful economic participation, while contributing to broader economic diversification.

Algerian women continue to excel academically. In 2023, the Ministry of Higher Education reported that women represent nearly 60 per cent of university graduates nationwide. This educational advantage has not yet been translated into equal participation in the labour market, however.^[21] Despite government initiatives to improve things, female labour force participation remains significantly lower than that of men. Apart from anything else, Algeria’s rentier economy has created few jobs in sectors that can absorb large numbers of skilled graduates, particularly women. Public sector employment remains the most attractive option because of its stability and benefits, but it is increasingly saturated. The private sector, by contrast, is often characterised by informal employment, lower wages and limited protections, making it less appealing to both women and men. For women in particular, the lack of gender-sensitive policies and career advancement opportunities further limit participation. Without economic diversification and targeted measures, the gap between educational attainment and meaningful employment is likely to persis.The increase in female ministers can create stronger institutional champions for gender budgeting processes, but the weak parliamentary representation means limited political oversight and voice. Effective GRB needs not just female ministers but also across‑the‑board gender‑aware representation in budget committees, oversight bodies and local governance.

In 2025 Algeria has taken important steps towards gender‑responsive governance. The appointment of nine women ministers marks a notable improvement in executive representation (Saada 2025). [22]  Meanwhile, the launch of the digital platform “Himayati” (“My Protection”) in September 2025 by the Ministry of National Solidarity, Family and Women’s Affairs demonstrates a concrete investment in gender‑based violence prevention and response (HIVOS‑EU SEE 2025). [23] These developments provide windows of opportunity for embedding gender‑budgeting practices in Algeria’s public finance architecture. For instance, budgetary allocations should reflect the increased presence of women decision‑makers, ensure that resources are directed towards women’s empowerment and protection programmes, and incorporate participatory mechanisms so that women’s voices in the executive and in civil society inform budget priorities. Moreover, tracking the outcomes of services made accessible via Himayati offers an accountability mechanism for gender‑responsive budgeting, ensuring that inputs (budget lines) translate into actual services and impacts for women and girls.

Algeria’s health budget: the urgent need for gender-responsive financing and inclusive reproductive care

The Health Ministry's budget does not systematically incorporate gender-responsive budgeting principles. Expenditures are seldom disaggregated by gender or specifically aimed at reducing gender-based health disparities. Notably, Algeria lacks a comprehensive framework for gender-responsive budgeting, which is essential for prioritising gender equality in national policies.^[24] Despite the critical importance of reproductive health services, such as maternal care, family planning and antenatal and postnatal care, these areas receive limited funding and that is often not earmarked. This lack of dedicated resources hampers the ability to track and enhance investments that directly benefit women's health.^[25] 

Although family planning services have been integrated into primary health care since the late 1960s, the absence of specific budget lines for these services continues to limit their expansion and effectiveness. While the Ministry of Health's total budget for 2025 has reached approximately 1.004 trillion dinars (around 7.6 billion US dollars), reproductive health does not appear to be prioritised within this allocation.^[26] Advocacy efforts by UNFPA Algeria have highlighted the importance of strengthening reproductive health services by securing contraceptive supplies through international procurement systems. These initiatives are aimed at improving contraceptive availability and sustainability, but require stronger government support and budgetary commitments to scale up effectively.^[27]

The health system plays a pivotal role in supporting survivors of violence against women and girls by providing medical care, psychological support and referrals. However, Algeria lacks a budget devoted explicitly to addressing gender-based violence. Many services, such as legal aid, health assistance and shelters, are provided by NGOs without consistent state support.^[28] The absence of a gender-responsive budget with specific allocations to address violence against women and girls reflects this gap. In 2022, UNFPA allocated 448,560 US dollars towards ending gender-based violence and harmful practices in Algeria. Of this, the government contributed only 50,792 US dollars (11 per cent), while UNFPA contributed 325,328 US dollars (73 per cent). This indicates a heavy reliance on international funding for gender-based violence initiatives and highlights the need for increased domestic investment.^[29]

Women's mental health, often influenced by social determinants such as gender inequality, is rarely prioritised or allocated specific funding. Similarly, chronic diseases that affect women differently, such as osteoporosis and autoimmune diseases, lack dedicated budget lines.^[30] Health budget allocations and infrastructure predominantly favour urban centres, leaving women in rural and remote areas with reduced access to services such as prenatal care and family planning. This urban bias exacerbates inequalities.^[31] During crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, budget reallocations typically focus on strengthening the general health system, with limited consideration for gender-specific impacts, such as increased domestic violence or disrupted reproductive health services.

Postpartum depression is often misunderstood in Algerian society. The symptoms are frequently attributed to superstitions such as witchcraft, spirit possession or sorcery. This metaphysical framing prevents many women from accessing proper care and so worsens their suffering. Feminist health advocates are urging the adoption of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in all prenatal and postnatal care settings to screen systematically for and prevent postpartum depression.^[32]

In addition, feminist platforms have called on the government to treat the overuse of caesarean sections and the neglect of postpartum care as national women's health crises. A gender-responsive budgeting approach would ensure that health allocations are distributed equitably, accountability mechanisms are strengthened, and women's specific health needs – especially in relation to childbirth and mental health – are at the centre of policy planning and expenditure. According to the Algerian Minister of Health, approximately 21 per cent of all births in the country are now delivered by caesarean section. However, a deeper look reveals a striking disparity between sectors: nearly 80 per cent of births in the private sector are conducted via C-section compared with only about 20 per cent in the public sector. This suggests that non-medical – and possibly economic or scheduling motivations – influence obstetric decisions, especially in private facilities.^[33]

Feminist movements are demanding that the overuse of caesarean sections be recognised as a national women’s health crisis. They call for a national policy and monitoring mechanism to oversee and regulate the use of caesarean deliveries in both public and private health sectors, ensuring that such surgeries are performed only when medically necessary.^[34]

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that caesarean section rates should remain between 10 and 15 per cent as rates beyond this range are not associated with reductions in maternal or neonatal mortality. In Algeria, private facilities far exceed this benchmark, suggesting a misuse of surgical birth methods not based on medical necessity.     ^[35] A 2021 study found that 53 per cent of births in Algeria’s private sector were by C-section, compared with just 7 per cent in public hospitals. These findings indicate that factors such as doctors’ convenience, higher profit margins and possibly even patient misconceptions or demands are contributing to the high rate in private clinics.^[36]

This practice, which involves a surgical incision (3 to 5 cm) in the perineum to assist vaginal delivery, is often performed without informed consent and sometimes even without anaesthesia. While episiotomy is sometimes medically necessary, its routine use to hasten labour is contrary to WHO guidelines, which recommend a restrictive rather than a routine approach.^[37] This case highlights how gendered inequalities, poor regulation and misinformation converge to produce harmful maternal health outcomes. Reducing unnecessary caesareans, recognising postpartum depression as a clinical issue rather than a metaphysical one, and respecting women's bodily autonomy during childbirth must become core pillars of Algeria’s reproductive health reforms.

In Algeria, maternity leave has recently undergone a significant reform to better protect working mothers’ rights and well-being. As of January 2025, the Algerian government approved a draft law that extends maternity leave from 14 weeks to 5 months (150 days) with full wage compensation throughout the leave period. A second extension of up to 165 additional days may be granted, depending on the severity of the child’s health condition.^[38] This progressive shift is aimed at aligning Algeria with global best practices in maternal health and labour rights. It addresses long-standing concerns about short maternity leave periods and their impact on maternal and child health, as well as workplace discrimination.^[39]

Despite this major improvement, the law has faced criticism from feminist groups and civil society organisations for excluding الحظانة custody mothers. Women who adopt or care for children through foster arrangements are not entitled to maternity leave, which deprives them of state-supported time to bond with and care for their children. This omission reinforces a narrow definition of motherhood and fails to recognise the caregiving roles and rights of non-biological mothers. Such omissions highlight a lack of intersectionality in health budgeting and policy frameworks, in which the needs of non-biological mothers – and by extension, other marginalised caregiving groups – are overlooked. This narrow approach thus perpetuates inequities in access to state-supported health and social benefits, undermining efforts to create truly gender-responsive and inclusive health systems.

Lessons learned from Rwanda 

Gender and budgeting in health and early childhood development 

The Rwandan Ministry of Health has embedded gender-responsive strategies within its budgeting and policy frameworks in an effort to improve women's reproductive health. The government has prioritised maternal health by expanding access to quality prenatal and postnatal care. This includes the deployment of approximately 58,000 community health workers, two thirds (66 per cent) of whom are women, to provide maternal health services at the community level. These community health workers offer services such as pregnancy monitoring and referrals to health facilities, which has contributed to a significant increase in facility-based deliveries. As of 2016–2017, 98 per cent of women delivered in health facilities, leading to a reduction in neonatal and infant mortality rates.^[40]

Recognising the impact of gender-based violence on women's health, Rwanda has established integrated service centres to support survivors. For instance, the Isange One Stop Center, launched in 2009, provides medical care, counselling, legal assistance and short-term shelter to gender-based violence victims. This holistic approach ensures that survivors receive comprehensive support in a single location.^[41]

Rwanda's commitment to gender-responsive health services is further demonstrated through specific performance targets outlined in national strategies. The National Strategy for Transformation (NST1, 2017–2024) includes objectives aimed at scaling up early childhood development (ECD) services at the village level. This initiative is intended to provide comprehensive care for children, including health, nutrition and cognitive development, thereby supporting women's roles as primary caregivers and promoting gender equality. By integrating early childhood development services into local communities, the government facilitates greater access and encourages male involvement in caregiving.^[42]

The Ministry of Health collaborates with other sectors to implement community-based programs that support early childhood development. For example, community health workers are trained to educate caregivers on child health and development, reinforcing the importance of early interventions and parental involvement. These efforts contribute to improved child health outcomes and alleviate some of the caregiving burdens traditionally placed on women.^[43] In collaboration with UNFPA and the Ministry of ICT and Innovation, Rwanda is developing digital platforms to provide accurate information on sexual and reproductive health and rights. These platforms are intended to prevent gender-based violence and support survivors by offering essential information, reporting mechanisms and access to online support services.^[44]

To ensure the effectiveness of gender-sensitive budgeting and policies, Rwanda has established robust monitoring mechanisms. The Gender Monitoring Office (GMO) was established in 2007 and monitors compliance with gender equality principles across the public and private sectors. It evaluates the implementation of gender-responsive budgeting, assesses the quality of services offered to victims of gender-based violence, and advocates for respect for gender equality at all levels.^[45] Rwanda’s experience thus demonstrates how strong political will and institutional commitment can turn gender-responsive budgeting into a powerful engine for improving women’s health and social outcomes. 

In contrast, Algeria stands at a crossroads, grappling with the structural, cultural and financial barriers that continue to hinder the full integration of gender perspectives in health planning and public spending. As Algeria moves towards more inclusive budgeting practices, particularly in reproductive health and maternity policy, its path reflects both the urgency and the complexity of aligning national budgets with gender equality goals, drawing lessons from Rwanda’s success.

Algeria’s commitment to early childhood development and gender-responsive health services aligns with the principles of gender-responsive budgeting, which seeks to ensure that public resources address gender inequalities effectively and meet the specific needs of women and children. Algeria has taken steps towards integrating gender perspectives into its public financial management. For example, the Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with international partners such as UN Women and UNDP, has initiated efforts to strengthen gender-responsive budgeting processes to improve the allocation and monitoring of resources for gender equality, including sectors such as health and social services. Despite these advances, the practical impact of gender-responsive budgeting in Algeria’s social sectors, such as early childhood programmes and school health services, remains hampered by gaps in capacity, data availability and the need for stronger institutional coordination. This affects its ability to ensure sufficient, targeted budgeting for gender-sensitive interventions, including those designed to reduce disparities in child development outcomes.^[46]

Continued strengthening of gender-responsive budgeting mechanisms is crucial to bridge the gap between Algeria’s policy commitments and actual service delivery in gender-responsive health care and early childhood development. Targeted budgeting that prioritises vulnerable groups can help to address persistent inequalities linked to socio-economic status and improve equitable access to quality services for all children and families.

Institutionalising gender equality in public finance

In Rwanda, post-genocide reconstruction prioritised institutional rebuilding and gender equity. The National Institute of Statistics collected sex-disaggregated data to support gender-responsive budgeting. While challenges persist, especially in rural areas where women’s informal labour is underreported,^[47] Rwanda has invested in training policymakers and integrating gender-responsive budgeting across sectors. Despite implementation gaps in agriculture and social protection, initiatives such as the Women’s Guarantee Fund and land reforms have increased women’s economic participation and reduced poverty in female-headed households. The 2003 Constitution mandated at least 30 per cent female representation, leading to over 60 per cent of parliamentary seats being held by women and an 86 per cent female labour force participation rate by 2021.^[48]

In contrast, Algeria’s efforts towards gender-responsive financial planning face institutional and technical barriers. Limited expertise, weak interministerial coordination and political resistance hinder the implementation of gender-sensitive frameworks.lthough legal protections exist for women, enforcement is weak and female labour force participation remains low at around 19 per cent. Civil society organisations also face restrictions under Law No. 12-06, which limits their capacity to advocate for gender equality and influence public policy.^[49]

In addition, Algeria’s limited government engagement with feminist organisations has hindered efforts to shape gender-sensitive recovery policies. Deep-rooted conservative norms and political distrust have marginalised civil society organisations, while state restrictions appear aimed at limiting their influence on policymaking. This highlights the need for inclusive governance that empowers civil society to advance gender equity.^[50]

Rwanda's success underscores the importance of political will and strong institutions in advancing gender-responsive recovery. The 2003 Constitution mandates at least 30 per cent female representation in decision-making, boosting women's participation in governance. Gender-responsive budgeting has also been integrated across ministries to ensure equitable resource allocation.^[51] 

Algeria’s experience shows that neglecting gender equity in post-conflict recovery can deepen inequalities and hinder sustainable development. This highlights the need to centre gender equity in recovery strategies for lasting, inclusive progress.^[52] Inclusive recovery depends on strong government– civil society organisation collaboration and the use of gender-disaggregated data to inform policy. This approach supports economic resilience and promotes equity, especially for marginalised groups.^[53]

Effective gender budgeting requires strong political will, institutional support and civil society engagement. Rwanda exemplifies this with gender quotas and the Ministry of Gender driving reforms. Its integrated approach shows how committed action can lead to real progress towards a more equitable society.Algeria has taken steps towards promoting gender equality. The National Action Plan for Gender Equality provides a solid framework, but progress has been slow. Implementation challenges have limited its impact, underscoring the need for stronger political commitment and more effective execution to drive real change. 

Conclusion

This research has explored the critical role of gender-responsive budgeting as a transformative tool for promoting equity and inclusive development in conflict-affected and fragile contexts, with a focus on Algeria. It has also presented lessons learned from a similar context, namely Rwanda, which has implemented gender integration in fiscal policy. Rwanda demonstrates how sustained political will, institutional commitment and inclusive policy frameworks can lead to meaningful outcomes in gender equality and social development. Algeria, on the other hand, illustrates the challenges of implementing gender-responsive budgeting in a context in which military expenditure dominates national budgets and gender considerations are often sidelined.

The findings underscore that gender-responsive budgeting is not merely a technical exercise but a political and social imperative that requires a reorientation of national priorities. In settings marked by entrenched patriarchal norms and post-conflict legacies, gender-blind budgeting reinforces structural inequalities, particularly for women and marginalised communities, who remain excluded from economic opportunities and access to basic services. Integrating a feminist economic lens – particularly one that is intersectional – into public financial management offers a pathway for redressing these imbalances and fostering more equitable, resilient societies. 

Algeria’s social, economic and political development can be sustained only through a genuine commitment to inclusive governance, transparent institutions and meaningful civic engagement. In recent years, calls for reform have grown louder – ranging from young people and women’s movements to civil society and academia – demanding a new social contract rooted in justice, accountability and equal opportunity. To respond effectively, the government must go beyond symbolic reforms and pursue a structural transformation that embeds equity, participation and human rights in the heart of public governance. Gender equality, transparency and cross-sectoral collaboration must no longer be aspirations; they must become embedded practices within national systems.

Recommendations for the Algerian government

1. Institutional reform and data transparency

•       Strengthen the autonomy, effectiveness and digitalisation of state institutions, especially those related to planning, statistics and auditing.

•       Mandate all ministries to publicly disclose detailed annual budgets and provide comprehensive reports at the end of each fiscal year, showing how funds were allocated and used.

2. Gender-sensitive and inclusive budgeting

•       Adopt gender-sensitive budgeting as a core national policy, with clear gender-impact assessments across all ministries.

•       Enshrine gender-sensitive budgeting principles within the Algerian Constitution, inspired by models such as Rwanda, to ensure long-term accountability.

3. Institutionalise intersectionality in policymaking

•       Incorporate intersectional approaches that consider overlapping forms of discrimination (gender, region, age, disability, socio-economic status) into all stages of policy design, implementation and evaluation.

•       Require disaggregated data collection to monitor how different population groups are affected by public policies and services.

4. Revive and expand the quota system

•       Reinforce the quota system for women’s representation in parliament and at all levels of governance (local councils, public administration, judiciary).

•       Ensure that mentorship, political training and leadership development programmes accompany quotas for women and underrepresented groups.

5. Interministerial collaboration and policy coherence

•       Promote cross-ministerial coordination to avoid policy fragmentation, especially in areas such as gender equality, youth engagement and climate action.

•       Establish joint task forces (for example, a gender equality unit) between ministries of finance, education, interior, environment and women’s affairs to align priorities and pool resources effectively.

6. Civic engagement and accountability

•       Institutionalise participatory governance by creating formal mechanisms for civil society consultation in national and local policy processes.

•       Ensure public access to budgetary information, policy drafts and evaluation reports through open data portals and regular public briefings.

Recommendations for civil society organisations (CSOs)

•       Actively monitor public spending and policy implementation through independent budget tracking, shadow reports and citizen audits.

•       Push for gender-sensitive budgeting and the inclusion of intersectional approaches to policymaking by generating evidence, holding dialogues with decision-makers and amplifying community voices.

•       Promote inclusive policy reforms and address the specific needs of women, girls, persons with disabilities and rural communities.

•       Foster coalitions between national civil society organisations, grassroots movements, youth-led initiatives and academic institutions to create a unified voice on key national issues.

•       Enhance internal capacities in research, policy analysis, digital tools, monitoring and evaluation, and gender and social inclusion mainstreaming.

•       Advocate for an enabling legal environment for CSOs, including freedom of association, expression and access to funding.

•       Provide data-driven policy alternatives, community-based insights and technical expertise to influence reforms in a grounded and legitimate way.

Recommendations for international organisations and donors

•       Locate funding: shift from top-down funding models to more accessible, long-term funding for local and grassroots organisations, reducing bureaucratic barriers.

•       Support legal and policy reform: provide technical assistance to revise and implement policies that promote democratic governance, civil liberties and inclusive development.

•       Strengthen human rights protections: monitor and report on civic space issues and provide protection and solidarity to threatened human rights defenders and independent media.

•       Foster regional and cross-border cooperation: facilitate South–South learning and regional collaboration.

^[1] Elson, D. (2002): Gender Justice, Human Rights, and Neo-Liberal Economic Policies, in: Molyneux, M. and Razavi, S. (eds) Gender Justice, Development, and Rights (Oxford University Press).

^[2] Elson, D. (2002). See n. 2 above. 

^[3] Christine M. and Kaldor, M. (2013): Gender and New Wars, in: Journal of International Affairs, 67(1): 167–187.

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^[13] Cheref (2010), see n 12 above. 

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[22] Saada, H. (2025). More Women in Government: A Powerful Signal for Female Empowerment in Algerian Politics. DzairTube. Retrieved from, 14.Dec-2025 https://www.dzair-tube.dz/en/more-women-in-government-a-powerful-signal-for-female-empowerment-in-algerian-politics/ دزاير توب

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^[26] Algeria Invest (2024), see n 23 above. 

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^[28] Ghanem, D. (2021): Algeria: War Against Women. Middle East Institute [online]. Available at: https://www.mei.edu/publications/algeria-war-against-women

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^[32]Le journal féministe Algérien.

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^[34]Ultra Algeria (2023): الولادة القيصرية في الجزائر: ممارسات ربحية تهدد الصحة العمومية. UltraAlgeria. Available at:

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^[39] International Labour Organization (ILO) (2023): Maternity protection resource package: From aspirations to reality for all. https://webapps.ilo.org/public/libdoc/ilo/2012/112B09_56_engl.pdf

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