Every year on March 8th, the global community reflects on the progress made toward gender equality. The theme for International Women’s Day 2026 is “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL women and girls”, and it serves as a reminder that legal rights are only as effective as the systems governments have in place to support them.
The urgency of this theme is underscored by sobering data from the United Nations. As we begin the second quarter of the 21st century, no nation has fully closed the legal gaps between men and women. Currently, women hold only 64 per cent of the legal rights that men hold worldwide, and, at the current pace of progress, it is estimated it will take 286 years to close these legal protection gaps.
Moving From “Bolt On” to “Built In”
At FreeBalance, our work involves partnering with governments to modernize public financial management (PFM). While financial systems are often viewed as purely technical, they are the essential infrastructure for achieving equal justice. Without transparent, inclusive ways to manage public funds, even the most progressive policies struggle to move from legislative approval to impactful delivery.
In many traditional integrated financial management information systems (IFMIS), tracking gender-related expenditure is a bolt-on, often managed through manual “tagging” or ad-hoc reporting. These methods frequently lack the accuracy required for high-level decision-making and are difficult for oversight bodies to verify.
We believe that for gender-responsive PFM to be effective, it must be built into the “fiscal plumbing” by design.
Using the FreeBalance Accountability Suite™, we help governments move beyond manual tags by integrating gender objectives directly into the Chart of Accounts (CoA) and the Chart of Goals (CoG). This structural integration ensures:
- Accountability, as gender-responsive budgeting becomes a standardized part of the budget formulation process.
- Real-time visibility, with expenditures are validated and tracked throughout the budget cycle, providing the evidence-based data needed for mid-year corrections.
- Alignment with global frameworks, with governments able to seamlessly align with international standards like the PEFA Gender Framework by moving beyond traditional budget tagging to a more robust, integrated approach. This structural data allows finance ministries to directly track and report on progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, providing the validated, audit-ready evidence needed to prove that fiscal policy is successfully advancing global equality targets.
By making equality a core system requirement rather than an optional label, we help ensure that public resources are more effectively directed toward dismantling the structural barriers women and girls face.
Empowering the People Behind the Systems
Effective governance requires more than robust software; it requires a diverse and empowered workforce to lead it. To build technology that serves all citizens, we must support the women who design, implement, and manage these systems, and those who want to build a career in technology.
We focus on supporting meaningful and powerful careers for women within the GovTech and public finance sectors. We believe that increasing female representation in leadership is vital to building the inclusive institutions of the future, and our ongoing partnership with Women in Tech is one practical way we do this.
Sustainable Progress through Practical Action
The path to equal justice is a long-term commitment. As the United Nations highlights this year, the legal gaps remain significant, and the path to closing them requires persistent effort.
At FreeBalance, we don’t claim to solve these challenges single-handedly. However, we do know that good governance and fiscal transparency lead to better social outcomes. By focusing on the mission to make financial management more inclusive, transparent and accountable, we are proud to support our government partners in turning the promise of equal rights into a reality for all women and girls.
To find out more about how the FreeBalance Accountability Suite™ can support your organization reach its goals, contact one of our PFM experts.