Gender Budgeting in der österreichischen Bundesverfassung – Fortschritt oder Falle?

Austria has often been presented as a particularly successful example of implementing gender responsive budgeting because it has succeeded during the course of the federal budget reform to enshrine the “actual equality of women and men” (Art. 13 (3) BV-G) into the Austrian constitution. This constitutional act came into force in 2009 and applies to all levels of government. Hence, the objective of gender responsive budgeting is enshrined at the same level as the objectives of overall economic balance or sustainably organised budgets (Art. 13 (2) B-VG). However, the question arises whether these legal changes already represent a success. Therefore the contribution investigates the development of gender responsive budgeting-initiatives in Austria from the 1990s to the second stage of the federal budget reform in 2013. More particularly it addresses the following questions: What problems and major challenges were to be faced during the implementation in Austria? Has Austria managed to implement gender responsive budgeting as a successful strategy to increase gender equality and women’s wellbeing? Did new challenges appear as a result of the current economic crisis?