This paper will examine the challenges, opportunities and progress of the GRPB model in engaging with women within the community. It will rely on the experiences of the Gender Responsive and Participatory Budgeting (GRPB) Pilot Project in Penang which...
This paper will examine the challenges, opportunities and progress of the GRPB model in engaging with women within the community. It will rely on the experiences of the Gender Responsive and Participatory Budgeting (GRPB) Pilot Project in Penang which demonstrates the integration of both gender (equality) and (people’s) participatory framework arguing that GRB is a “responsive” process adopted by policy makers to ensure gender equitable allocation of resources, whereas PB is a “participatory” platform that focuses on empowering communities as stakeholders and agents of change. The methodology which explores the various approaches utilised in acknowledging the different roles and needs of men and women in a low income urban community will then be discussed. It will also attempt to answer whether diverse and fractured communities can develop agency, organise and transform themselves and what constitutes concrete outputs and sustainability within this context, particularly for women.