The Court of Accounts’ Contribution to Reduce Gender Inequalities

Possible Paths

Abstract

Demographic data indicate that social, economic, and political inequality between genders is a reality in Brazil. Government institutions have the duty to face these inequalities by promoting adequate public policies. The courts of accounts, in turn, need to monitor and evaluate government performance in confronting gender inequalities. In this context, this paper seeks to explore possibilities of incorporating and/or strengthening a gender-sensitive posture by Brazilians courts of accounts. The article brings a history of initiatives carried out in the last decade in the context of Latin American supreme audit institutions and approaches the concept of gender mainstreaming for a better contextualization of the theme. Two possible paths are presented for the performance of the courts of accounts in the reduction of gender inequalities: leadership by example and gender perspective integration in audit work.

Demographic data indicate that social, economic, and political inequality between genders is a reality in Brazil. Government institutions have the duty to face these inequalities by promoting adequate public policies. The Courts of Accounts, in turn, need to monitor and evaluate government performance in confronting gender inequalities. In this context, this paper seeks to explore possibilities of incorporating and/or strengthening a gender-sensitive posture by brazilians Courts of Accounts. The article brings a history of initiatives carried out in the last decade in the context of Latin American Supreme Audit Institutions and approaches the concept of  gender mainstreaming for a better contextualization of the theme. Two possible paths are presented for the performance of the Courts of Accounts in the reduction of gender inequalities: leadership by example and gender perspective integration in audit work