She Files Taxes Too: Gender Inclusive Detail Stands Out In Sitharaman's Budget Speech

Nirmala Sitharaman's use of the pronoun 'she' while taking note of taxes in her announcement of the Union Budget 2022-23 stood out on February 1. The Finance Minister's choice to use inclusive language in the domain of financial matters traditionally dominated by men showed the way for a positive trend towards equality.

The 62-year-old's surprise breakaway from Budget parlance that has the tendency to give priority to male pronouns was cheered on by noted Indian women in finance and banking.

"Glad to see, that “SHE” is the one filing income tax! #Budget2020," Radhika Gupta, the chief executive officer of Edelweiss Asset Management, tweeted Tuesday. 

"Loved it," wrote NASSCOM president and tech field veteran Debjani Ghosh. 

Suggested Reading: Union Budget 2022 Recognises Importance Of Nari Shakti: Here Is What Women Got

Sitharaman in the past too has been noted for her consciousness of gender equality. On the occasion of International Women's Day last year in March, the Finance Minister said while addressing a group of women politicians, "Language of communication has to be gender-sensitive. We stand up each time for use of the right language."

She added there is a prevalence of an "implicit gender bias" in the formal and informal language society uses. She cited the example of a &t=3s">dialogue popular in colloquial interactions and popularised by Hindi films - "Arey main choodi pehen ke baitha hoon kya?" - that implies sexism and emasculation.

"We have to make a conscious attempt to change these things," she noted.

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What the Budget offers women: 

Marking her fourth Budget speech, Sitharaman sought to highlight women-centric schemes with a presentation on "recognising the importance of 'Nari Shakti'."

Under the Saksham Anganwadi offering, two lakh anganwadis would be upgraded across the country while Mission Shakti will continue its concentration on women's empowerment, inclusive resource access and safety. Benefits for integrated child development - with a focus on education and safety - would be converged under the Mission Poshan 2.0 and Mission Vatsalya schemes.

These are major offerings that fall within the ambit of the Ministry of Women and Child Development. More on the Budget here.