Foreword

This report provides an overview of how countries are considering gender equality within their tax systems, focusing on how it is incorporated into the tax policy design process, as well as key sources of implicit and explicit bias, and data available for analysis. The report also considers priorities and avenues for future work on ensuring that tax policy and tax systems more broadly contribute to governments’ gender equality goals.

The report was prepared as part of the OECD’s efforts to mainstream gender equality and for presentation to the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors at their meeting to be held in February 2022. The report is primarily based on countries’ responses to a questionnaire that was circulated in July 2021 by the OECD to all members of the G20/OECD Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting. Responses were received from 43 countries, including from the G20, the OECD and beyond.

The report contains three sections in addition to an executive summary and the introduction: Chapter 2 provides an overview of the key concepts of gender outcomes in the tax system, Chapter 3 explores country approaches to tax policy and gender equality, and Chapter 4 provides for conclusions and implications for policy-makers.

This report was produced by the Tax Policy and Statistics Division of the OECD’s Centre for Tax Policy and Administration. It was co-ordinated by Michelle Harding and Julien Jarrige and written jointly by Zipporah Gakuu, Michelle Harding, Julien Jarrige and Eugénie Ribault, with significant contributions by Ibtissem Maouene. The authors would like to thank the delegates of Working Party No.2 on Tax Policy Analysis and Tax Statistics for their inputs. The authors would also like to thank David Bradbury and Grace Perez-Navarro for their guidance. The authors are also grateful to Willem Adema, Malo Ceillier, Erwan Cherfaoui, Karena Garnier, Hazel Healy, Natalie Lagorce, Michael Sharratt, Violet Sochay, Joseph Stead and Carrie Tyler for their comments and practical assistance.

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Disclaimers

This document, as well as any data and map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.

The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law.

Revised version, March 2022

Details of revisions available at: https://www.oecd.org/about/publishing/Corrigendum-Tax-Policy-and-Gender-Equality.pdf

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