Will Union Budget 2025 Tackle Gender Inequality At Its Root?

The Union Budget is a powerful tool shaping the lives of citizens. While the 2024-25 budget made progress with increased capital expenditure, tax relief, and social security, it failed to adequately address women's and marginalised communities' needs (ORF, 2024). Insufficient funding limits access to vital services, deepening inequalities. Employment generation remains a challenge, with gaps in opportunities and skill development. As the FY26 budget approaches, there is hope for a more inclusive approach prioritising citizens' actual needs over populism.

Let's explore the expected impact of the Union Budget 2025-2026.

More Than Just Numbers: Will Budget 2025-26 Tackle Gender Inequality at Its Root?

India is shifting from women’s development to women-led development, as highlighted in the Economic Survey 2023-24. The budget for women’s welfare schemes rose by 218.8%, from ₹97,134 crore in FY14 to ₹3.10 lakh crore in FY25. The Gender Budget accounts for 6.5% of the Union Budget, its highest share yet. While it may seem like more money is being spent on ‘women-led development’, we are nowhere near spending the most on women.

The gender budget is divided into three components: Part A, which includes schemes with 100% allocation for women; Part B, covering schemes with at least 30% allocation for women; and Part C, which consists of schemes with allocations of up to 30% for women. Despite an overall increase in the gender budget, the share of funds exclusively dedicated to women (Part A) has declined from 37% in 2023-24 to 34% in 2024-25.

This raises a crucial question—does the higher allocation genuinely translate into better opportunities for women, or is it merely a numbers game?

The decline in India’s Global Gender Gap Index (GGI) ranking from 127th in 2023 to 129th in 2024 further highlights the disconnect between policy announcements and lived realities. The slide is primarily attributed to setbacks in education and political empowerment. The literacy gap between men and women, standing at 17.2 percentage points, continues to restrict women’s access to better-paying jobs and leadership positions. This forces us to acknowledge that access alone is not enough—without sustained investment in retention and workplace inclusion, education will not translate into economic independence.

A report by Hero Wired titled 'Women in Modern Workplaces in India' showed that for 70% of the 2 lakh surveyed women, the main challenge in career progression was achieving a satisfactory work-life balance. Investing in infrastructure and services that alleviate the burden of unpaid care work from women is essential. This means expanding affordable childcare facilities, creating safe and accessible transportation, and encouraging flexible work opportunities, especially for women. This will also ensure an increased participation of women in the workforce, which is not growing at the same rate of women getting higher education.

 If employment policies do not adapt to the realities of women’s lives, the gap between education and workforce participation will only widen.

To achieve gender equity, it is crucial to ensure that women have equal access to education and employment. However, this can only happen if we create safe spaces for women to study and work. In a country where 51 calls for crimes against women are received every hour, and high-profile cases like the R.G. Kar Medical College rape case highlight the lack of safety in workplaces, the government must prioritise spending on women’s safety, both public and private. Investing in gender sensitisation at the grassroots level is necessary to shift mindsets and hold men accountable.

Without systemic cultural shifts, no policy intervention can truly make workplaces and educational institutions safer for women.

Furthermore, Indian women face a significant gap in sexual and reproductive health services, with 24 million lacking access to contraception, leading to higher rates of unintended pregnancies, maternal mortality, and unsafe abortions. Similarly, the third-gender community and the broader LGBTQ+ population face systemic barriers, particularly in accessing sexual health services, hormone therapy, and gender-affirming care. Despite these pressing concerns, they are sidelined during budgetary allocations. This exclusion deepens health disparities and limits economic and political participation. Sexual and reproductive health is essential for our future as an equitable society. Yet, year after year, the budget fails to prioritise these critical areas, making gender equity a distant dream rather than an actionable goal.

At last, the number of women members of parliament has declined from 78 in 2019 to 74 in 2024, now making up just 13.6% of the total. The government must allocate funds for capacity-building programs, leadership training, and financial support for women candidates to reduce barriers to political participation. Without active intervention to strengthen women’s presence in governance, how can we expect policies that truly reflect their needs?

The Union Budget 2025-26 is an opportunity to translate promises of gender equity into tangible change. If we are serious about dismantling systemic inequalities, the budget must go beyond surface-level allocations and address the everyday microaggressions, biases, and barriers that shape women’s realities. Denial, silence, shame, and stigma create a culture where harmful behaviours go unchecked, allowing discrimination and violence to persist. Progress will remain elusive without targeted investments in safety, political representation, and structural reforms that challenge these deeply embedded issues.

Will this budget make real change possible, or will it settle for symbolic gestures again? The answer will define not just economic growth but the future of an equal, inclusive and just society.

This article is written by Smita Bharti, Executive Director, Sakshi, a rights based NGO.