Cyprus is preparing to introduce gender-responsive budgeting across the public sector, supported by new legislation, policy reforms and specialised training for government officials, Commissioner for Gender Equality Josie Christodoulou has said.
Speaking at an 11 February WICZ+ Foundation event in Nicosia titled 'Gender Equality in Budgeting Development: Applying Gender-Responsive Approaches', the Commissioner said the Council of Ministers has already approved and submitted to parliament 'The Gender Mainstreaming Law of 2025', which will embed gender equality considerations into policymaking and state budget preparation.
“This topic captures the essence of what modern, democratic governance should be: systems that reflect everyone’s needs, and budgets that empower all members of society to participate, contribute, and thrive,” she said.
According to the Commissioner, the proposed legislation will introduce the obligation to mainstream gender in the preparation of policies, actions, legislative initiatives and the state budget, and in the public procurement process. Tools supporting this effort include sex-disaggregated data collection and gender-impact assessments already being implemented through the National Strategy for Gender Mainstreaming.
She noted that gender mainstreaming is already reflected in the government’s tax reform proposals, including relief measures for both parents based on dependent children and equal tax relief for single-parent families. “These measures encourage women’s more active participation in the labour market and at the same time contribute to improving their living standards,” she said, adding that the forthcoming pension reform will also aim at “closing the gender pension gap in our country.”
She also said that since 2023, Cyprus has been building the foundations for gender-responsive budgeting through participation in the European Commission’s Gender Flagship Project, led by Expertise France. Technical assistance to the Ministry of Finance and the Commissioner’s Office resulted in a Gender Action Plan that has been implemented since September 2025.
Christodoulou added that training programmes have involved officials from the Budget and Fiscal Control Directorate, the Statistical Service, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Justice and Public Order, focusing on gender-impact assessments and the use of sex-based statistics in policy making.
“Gender-responsive budgeting is an important technical instrument, a transformative approach, which ensures that our financial decisions are being translated into concrete policies and reflect the lived realities of both women and men,” the Commissioner said.
Study visits and international cooperation — including a visit to Helsinki to examine Finland’s long-standing gender-budgeting practices — have helped Cyprus develop practical tools and coordination mechanisms for implementation.
With the project nearing completion, targeted training sessions are taking place in Nicosia, while guidance on data collection and recommendations to the Ministry of Finance on integrating gender into budget preparation are being finalized.
The Commissioner said “the government is taking concrete steps to prepare for gender-responsive budgeting,” including integrating gender-impact assessments into major policy proposals, improving data collection, and establishing monitoring frameworks.
“All this work will allow us to fully apply gender-responsive budgeting across the public sector and ensure it becomes a normal part of our financial governance,” she said. “This work will bring us to the stage where gender equality becomes an operational, measurable, and permanent part of our budgetary process.”
She pointed to the broader significance of the reforms, saying that policy dialogue is being translated into concrete action, institutions are being equipped with the necessary tools, and financial decision-making is being shaped to better recognise and support the needs of all members of society.
(Source: CNA)
