Domestic revenue mobilisation (taxation, tariffs, etc.) is recognised as the most sustainable way of financing development. For lower-income countries, this mode of financing is all the more important today, in a context of reduced development aid.
An effective tax system is based, among other things, on fair and sustainable revenue collection. This means asking who pays, how much, and under what conditions – because paying taxes is not just an economic transaction; it is first and foremost, a relationship between citizens and the State. It is therefore essential to ensure that the tax burden and the treatment of taxpayers – whether women or men – are equitable and perceived as such. This is key to strengthening trust between the State and its citizens, and ultimately to enabling the State to finance itself.
The preparatory document for the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development, which will take place in Spain this summer, stresses the importance of promoting “gender-responsive taxation” and supporting “methodologies and tools for designing, monitoring and evaluating tax and budget policies with a gender perspective”. While the topic of gender and taxation is receiving renewed attention today, it has been debated for over 30 years.
Gender and taxation: old debates in perpetual renewal
All around the world, women and men do not have the same consumption habits, social roles, or levels and types of income – women, on average, earning less than men throughout their lives. These differences mean that a tax system that applies uniformly to everyone can create unequal outcomes based on the gender of the taxpayer.
This is what Janet Stotsky called implicit gender bias in the 1990s, distinguishing it from explicit gender bias, which refers to tax provisions that apply clearly and specifically to either women or men. This analytical framework is still widely used today by Ministries of Finance, tax and customs administrations, academics, and development partners (including international actors, donors, civil society organisations, etc.).
Since the 1990s, many explicit gender biases have been removed from tax codes as they are easily identifiable and often outdated, especially when reflecting current family structures. However, debates around implicit biases continue. These are more difficult to detect, often requiring in-depth tax impact analyses that many tax administrations or statistical institutes cannot conduct due to the lack of sex-disaggregated data on taxpayers.
While Stotsky’s framework was instrumental in shedding light on gender issues in taxation, it now shows significant limitations – particularly as it examines solely tax policy – the law – without taking into account its implementation by tax administration officials.
What are the levers for action on gender equality for tax and customs administrations?
Four key levers of action can be identified:
1. Production of sex-disaggregated data:
Tax and customs administrations are responsible for producing data on taxpayers. Sex-disaggregated data is crucial for identifying and deepening the analysis of gender inequalities in taxation, as well as in other sectors.
2. Accessibility of services to taxpayers
Women face specific barriers in accessing tax-related information (language, digital tools, tax literacy) and, more generally, in using taxpayer services. Tax and customs administrations must therefore adapt their service delivery to ensure equal access for all.
3. Interactions with informal sector operators
In lower income countries, more than 92% of women work in the informal sector.
Contrary to common belief, these operators also contribute to the financing of public services through several informal taxes. Gender inequality issues therefore affect them as well. The way tax and customs administrations interact with this sector should encourage formalisation, not discourage it. These administrations therefore play a critical role in influencing this decision,– especially when it comes to women taxpayers.
4. Equality within tax and customs administrations
The under-representation of women in decision-making positions – and among tax agents more generally – limits the diversity of perspectives and can harm the performance of these administrations. More egalitarian governance could enhance the equity of services delivered to taxpayers.
Gender equality assessment tools for tax and customs administrations
In this context, several assessment tools have been developed by international organisations to support tax and customs administrations in integrating gender issues into their internal operations and interactions with taxpayers.
- In 2013, the World Customs Organization (WCO) launched its Gender Equality Organizational Assessment Tool (GEOAT).
- In 2021, UNDP launched the Gender Equality Seal, targeting public institutions – with a focus, since 2023, on tax administrations and Ministries of Finance.
- In November 2024, the OECD published a new Gender Balance Maturity Model for tax and customs administrations.
While these analytical tools represent a significant step forward, we still have little insight into their real impact, particularly in lower-income countries. How are tax and customs officials actually using them? Do they lead to concrete action plans that could result in more gender-equitable tax systems? Exploring these questions will be a key focus of my research in the coming years as part of my thesis.
