The three-day workshop on Gender-Responsive Budgeting (GRB) and the Gender Equality Seal for Public Institutions, with the participation of over 40 participants from the Ministry of Finance, National Assembly, Court of Auditors, MASFAMU, MAT, CSOs, UN Agencies and the World Bank.

The workshop served as a space for capacity building, knowledge exchange, and strategic planning, aiming to equip key institutions with practical tools and methodologies to integrate gender equality into budgeting processes and lay the groundwork for Angola’s future implementation of the UNDP Gender Equality Seal. 

The  presentations encompassed a wide array of topics, including:

• The Public Gender Equality Seal;

• The EQUANOMICS framework

• Gender-responsive taxation and public finance;

• The Pro PALOP-TL methodology for gender-responsive budgeting;

• An analysis of the gender sensitivity of Angola’s 2025 State Budget;

• The five dimensions of the Public Gender Equality Seal;

• The intersection of Gender-Based Violence and Sexual Harassment with Dimension 3;

• The role of partnerships and accountability with civil society, particularly gender and feminist organisations.

• Angola’s gender data landscape was also highlighted.

The agenda had interactive sessions, the institutions mapped the current capacities, challenges and laid strategies to advance gender equality within their different mandates.

A Transformative Approach: Equanomics and the Gender Equality Seal

Participants were introduced to the international methodology of the Gender Equality Seal, a performance-based certification applied in over 100 public institutions across 35 countries. The tool supports institutions in strengthening gender equality across five key dimensions:
•    Institutional leadership and commitment
•    Gender-responsive planning and budgeting
•    Human resource management and organisational culture
•    Service delivery and results
•    Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms with a gender lens

Angola as a Regional Reference

Angola has already made meaningful progress. It was one of the first PALOP-TL countries to introduce gender markers in budget programming and formally institutionalise GRB in 2022 through Executive Decree No. 195/21. 
 

The establishment of the Gender Observatory of Angola has further enhanced national capacity to generate and use gender-disaggregated data to inform decision-making and monitor impact.
 

As part of the mission, the Pro PALOP-TL team held bilateral dialogues with the Ministry of Finance, Court of Auditors, and the Network of Women Parliamentarians, 5th Commission of Parliamentary Committee and CSOs, in addition to facilitating the co-development of institutional work plans to operationalise gender equality commitments across public entities.

Together with the formulation of concrete action plans to systematically integrate gender perspectives into public finance and governance, this moment signals the start of a new phase of cooperation focused on embedding inclusive and transformative practices that deliver tangible results for women and men throughout the country.
 

Pro PALOP-TL, currently in its third phase, is funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 

The programme aims to strengthen economic governance, transparency, and accountability in PALOP countries and Timor-Leste, through institutional capacity development and public sector reform.