4 Advancing Gender Equality in Nepal: Refining gender-responsive budgeting for transformative impact Executive Summary Nepal has made significant strides in embedding gender perspectives into its public financial management systems through the implementation of gender-responsive budgeting(GRB). Since the financial year 2005/06, when the government committed to integrating gender considerations into the budgeting process, important milestones have been achieved, including the establishment of the Gender-Responsive Budgeting Committee (GRBC) and the development of a classification system for GRB. These efforts have laid a foundation for promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment across the country. In recent years, Nepal has made further progress with the introduction of refined GRB guidelines, a localization strategy that extends GRB to local governments, and the integration of GRB tools into budget-management and expenditure­tracking systems. While progress has been made, challenges remain, including at the local level, where full adoption of GRB practices is still under way. The remaining challenge is to refine the GRB system in place in order to enable its transformative impact, advancing gender equality and more prosperous economic development and well-being for all. Investments in gender equality are a key driver of economic growth, as it unlocks economic productivity, increases employment, reduces poverty, and improves the well-being of all. gender-equality investments alongside fostering greater collaboration and capacity-building across key stakeholders. A particular focus lies also on recommendations to enhance the role of parliamentarians in the GRB process. Key recommendations To ensure the continued success and sustainability of GRB in Nepal, several key actions are necessary. First, it is essential to strengthen the legal framework surrounding GRB. By enshrining GRB within the country’s legal and fiscal systems, Nepal can provide clear mandates for gender equality to be integrated at all levels of government decision­making. This will offer the necessary foundation for ensuring that GRB becomes a permanent and effective component of the public financial management system and fiscal policies. Second, improving institutional coordination is critical. Efforts must continue to enhance collaboration between government ministries, parliament, civil society organisations, development partners, and other key stakeholders. By fostering strong partnerships and ensuring efficient information-sharing, Nepal can ensure that GRB is implemented effectively across all sectors and that gender-equality priorities are embedded in every phase of the budgeting process. To further strengthen the GRB system and ensure its continued success, this strategy paper presents a set of actionable and forward­thinking recommendations. These focus on enhancing the legal framework, institutional arrangements, and refining the GRB framework, enhancing the application of technical tools that underpin GRB, promoting transformative Refining the GRB framework in place, in particular by expanding the use of existing GRB tools, is another important step forward. Nepal should build on the tools already developed and broaden their application throughout the entire planning and budgeting cycle, from policy formulation to reporting. The introduction of Gender Impact Assessments(GIAs), gender equality performance