While the government's gender-responsive budget is an important and progressive reform, economist Anjana Lamichhane has pointed out that its impact or results need to be evaluated.

'So far, we have been looking at the data on how much budget has been allocated, how many people have received training or who has benefited,' she said. 'It is necessary to see whether that budget has improved the living standards of women, whether jobs have been created, and whether the businesses started have been operated in the long term.'

Despite decades of reform efforts, Lamichhane's analysis is that women are still lagging behind due to the burden of housework, childcare, and discrimination in the labor market. She says that the current policy should be 'result-based' rather than 'number-based'. "Although it may sound small, programs such as community day-care centers or childcare should be introduced to support women's economic empowerment," she said. "Paying attention to such basic issues will increase women's economic independence and opportunities."