A Compendium on the Application of Gender Equity Financing & Budgeting in Covid-19 Mitigation and Recovery Processes: Key Lessons for South Africa

The novel coronavirus has been declared a global pandemic that requires global emergency due to its impacts on the global economy and populations. This article delves into the extent to which public finance management responds to gendered implications that emanate from the COVID-19 contagion. The outbreak of diseases affects men and women differently, and in such pandemics, gender inequalities are more pronounced and efforts to reduce gender gaps are usually thwarted by financing and budgeting methods that are gender-neutral. From this standpoint, the article advances the notion that public expenditure initiatives taken to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 must be implemented from a gender lens and that the position of heterogeneous groups in society is considered to subdue further inequalities. The article also seeks to contribute to knowledge on gender-responsive budgeting by moving beyond procedural clarifications to highlight it as a critical element that can be adopted to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19. Using discourse analysis, the study examines the extent to which gender-responsive public expenditure initiatives across the globe can be adopted in the South African context to respond to different needs of men and women amidst COVID-19. Evidence reveals that although the country set aside R500 billion to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic, there are still gaps to align the fiscal commitments to gender equity goals.