The evolution of gender budgeting: the Italian State case

This article aims to analyse the evolution of gender budgeting (GB) and its impact by investigating the GB of the Italian State. We applied a qualitative methodology based on a case study to analyse the evolution of GB (Yin, 2018). The case study analyzed the Italian context, specifically scrutinizing the gender budget and policies of the Italian State as published by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) (Italian Gender Budgeting, 2023). In Italy, GB starting at local levels and later integrated nationally through legislative measures aims to identify resources for equal opportunity policies and evaluate gender impacts of budgetary policies. The first Italian national GB, established in 2017 for the 2016 fiscal year, now serves as a strategic tool for enhancing Italy's Gender Equality Index score, with a target of increasing it by 5 points by 2026, as outlined in Italian GB reports. Our results reveal that the GB of the State has undergone significant evolution from its first edition to the latest in 2023. This evolution has involved changes in the level of detail of information, the structure, the number of pages, and the number of boxes. Additionally, there have been alterations in the amount of expenses and a slight evolution in the methodology of expenditures. This study has several theoretical implications for academics, public entities, practitioners, and decision-makers. This research contributes to the literature on GB investigating the Italian case. The originality of this study stems from the analysis of the evolution of the GBof the Italian state. Unlike existing research, which predominantly focuses on the GB analyses of municipalities or universities, our research delves into the complexities of GB at the national level (Galizzi et al. 2014; Galizzi et al., 2018; Galizzi et al., 2023; Lucchese et al. 2022).