The Global Seal Team conducted a five-day capacity building mission to Mongolia from 6 – 10 November to support the implementation of the EQUANOMICS initiative in the country. The mission included capacity building for up to 40 officers of the General Tax Authority, Ministry of Finance and National Committee on Gender Equality, in addition to bilateral meetings with pertinent government departments and development allies.
Topics focused on the three components of EQUANOMICS: the Gender Equality Seal for Public Institutions, gender-responsive tax reforms, and gender-responsive budgeting. The main objective was to increase awareness and develop skills to facilitate the implementation of EQUANOMICS in Mongolia, emphasizing the Gender Equality Seal and gender-responsive tax reforms.
Mongolia is one of eight countries currently receiving support under the EQUANOMICS initiative through UNDP’s Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Funding Window (GEWE) thanks to pooled contributions from the Republic of Korea and Luxembourg. The initiative aims to make taxation work for gender equality by (i) implementing the Gender Equality Seal for Public Institutions at the General Tax Authority of Mongolia and (ii) to prepare for gender-responsive tax policy reforms by building capacities and piloting gender impact tax assessments in partnership with the Ministry of Finance (MOF).
General Tax Authority continues the Seal journey
The mission included two days of training for officers of the General Tax Authority in Ulaanbaatar which is the country´s national tax administration. The modules covered the fundamental principles of gender equality and the interlinkages between taxation and gender, with a special focus on implicit biases commonly found in core taxes. The training also included detailed sessions on each of the five dimensions of the Gender Equality Seal for Public Institutions.
Commissioner Zayabal Batjargal of the General Tax Authority expressed his strong commitment to the EQUANOMICS initiative and the Gender Equality Seal during his opening speech at the training session. He highlighted the importance of GTA officers acting as gender equality advocates, responsible for sharing their insights and experiences with other Mongolian government departments. After the training, the General Tax Authority’s Gender Seal task force updated its improvement action plan, an important milestone within the third step of Seal implementation.
Bilateral meetings and awareness sessions were organized with the Tax Policy Department of the Ministry of Finance, National Committee on Gender Equality and the Civil Service Council. A significant outcome of these discussions was the Ministry of Finance’s commitment to pilot a gender impact assessment of Mongolia’s tax system. The initial focus will be on personal income tax (PIT), specifically examining how it influences women’s participation in the labor force, to provide insights for upcoming PIT reforms. Additionally, the Ministry of Finance expressed a strong interest in the Gender Equality Seal for Public Institutions, a sentiment echoed by the National Committee on Gender Equality and the Civil Service Council, both of which pledged their support in expanding the implementation of the Seal to other government departments in Mongolia.
