The cost of living crisis, spiralling inequality and climate breakdown are symptoms of an economic system that was not designed to meet the needs of people and planet. The budget process, the decisions on how to raise and spend money, is one of the most powerful tools of governments for shaping our economy. How can we use budget decisions to address structural inequalities in our economy and redesign our economy to align with our values?
The approaches of gender and wellbeing budgeting are trying to answer this question and have been gaining increasing traction. Join the Cross Party Group on Wellbeing Economy to find out more about these approaches and to discuss how we can apply them in Scotland.
We have got an exciting line-up of two speakers who will introduce the ideas behind gender and wellbeing budgeting and answer your questions:
Sara Cowan is the Coordinator of the Scottish Women’s Budget Group and will introduce the concept of gender budgeting.
Sara joined Scottish Women’s Budget Group in September 2020 as the organisation entered a new period of development in its 20 year history. The Scottish Women’s Budget Group brings together a wide range of women from across Scotland who have an interest in women’s equality and want to achieve better gender equality in our society. Sara has spent her career working on social justice issues, with 13 years spent in various campaigning roles at Oxfam working on inequality, climate change and humanitarian issues. Prior to that Sara worked in Glasgow as an individual advocate for people with physical and mental health difficulties.
Margreet Frieling is the Knowledge Co-Lead at the Wellbeing Economy Alliance and will speak on the topic of wellbeing budgeting.
Margreet is a policy analyst experienced in the use of wellbeing frameworks and evidence to inform and design better public policy. She has extensive experience working across the public sector internationally, including for the OECD, the New Zealand Government, and the Dutch Ministry of Health, Wellbeing and Sport, as well as working with local councils to support a wellbeing policy approach.
Chair: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian and Convenor of the Cross Party Group on Wellbeing Economy
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Please register by the end of Monday the, 5th of December.
How to Join
The meeting will be held at the Scottish Parliament with the option to join either in person or remotely. Please indicate at sign-up whether you are planning to attend in person or online. We will share more details with you after you have signed up.