Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 1:31 pm on 29 June 2022.
Thank you very much. Gross domestic product is the most common measure of national income—a model, of course, that measures the size of the cake and how much we produce with our resources rather than the standard of living and equality. And gender budgeting would use tools such as policy evaluations and impact assessments in order for us to be aware of all the ways in which Government budgets and fiscal policy impact differently on women and men.
One example of using these tools would be the ability to assess funding decisions with regard to public services, which impact women more significantly than men, given that there are more women working in the public sector than there are men. And that is even more relevant to Arfon and Gwynedd—Gwynedd is third in Wales in terms of the proportion of employees working in the public sector. So, I have a great deal of interest in hearing how Government expenditure decisions and fiscal policy are being made through this specific lens and to what extent they are endorsed by organisations, such as the Wales Women's Budget Group.