Abstract Gender budgeting (GB) is a social innovation that integrates gender awareness into budgetary decision‐making. This study builds on existing well‐being frameworks to conceptualize GB as an undervalued yet powerful tool for achieving human development across social groups. Using the event study method to leverage the differential timing of GB adoption across 46 countries between 2000 and 2022, we compare its impact on the human development of women and men. The results reveal that GB not only positively impacts women but also benefits men, suggesting that promoting gender equality does not come at the expense of any group's well‐being.
Cruz et al. (2026) studied this question.