These experiences of poverty, vulnerability, life-cycle changes and crisis are consistently gendered experiences, with women and girls over-represented among those living in poverty globally, and difference in poverty largest when care and domestic responsibilities usually assigned to women are at their peak. For example, women in the 24-34 age group 25% more likely to be in poverty,  and female headed households are staggeringly almost 50% more likely to be in extreme poverty than male headed households. COVID-19 has compounded this disadvantage, with feminized employed sectors likely to be the hardest hit during recessions, whilst critical services that respond to gendered needs, experiences and disproportionate care burdens all severely constrained – from GBV response services, to SRHR, to childcare. However, increasingly, we are seeing that social protection can contribute to a range of gender equality outcomes, as well as delivering different gendered results depending on design, implementation choices and context.

But what does the evidence say? What do we know about the impacts of social protection on gendered outcomes relating to education outcomes such as access to schools and learning? What about SRHR outcomes and maternal health – or nutrition? Do we see evidence for impacts on violence against children, gender-based violence, abuse and neglect – and do these differ for girls, boys, women and men? What do we know about the potential impacts of social protection on women’s economic empowerment?

This report provides a concise summary of the findings of a rapid evidence assessment, capturing the recent evidence on whether and how social protection programmes in low and middle-income countries can contribute to gender equality. Critically, the paper summarises evidence with a lifecycle perspective, from infancy through to adulthood. You will find the full report in the drop-down menu, which focuses on evidence relating to social protection and gender organised into four key pillars: (1) Education and Learning; (2) Health & Nutrition; (3) Child Protection & GBV and (4) Economic Empowerment. Readers also have the option to download ‘mini’ papers extracting the findings for each pillar.

The objective of this work was to review the complementary activities of the cash transfer programme using a gender approach and to formulate recommendations on how to structure these activities so that they better meet the needs of women and young girls.

The report follows an initial review of the core cash transfer module, which analysed the various risks and vulnerabilities that women and girls face in the context of Burundi, and which assessed the extent to which the cash transfer programme addressed these.

The purpose of this technical support is to assess the extent to which the cash plus programme is gender-responsive, and to provide recommendations for strategically advancing cash plus activities to achieve better results for girls and women in the project coverage areas.

This report focuses on the analysis of ‘gender’ indicators as part of the activities of the MERANKABANDI project. In particular, the study examined the extent to which the MERANKABANDI project was formulated according to a gender approach aimed at equality and equity. This study is based on an analysis of the context in Burundi, the different risks and vulnerabilities that affect women and girls, it identifies the challenges associated with the activities from a gender perspective, and proposes recommendations for the effective inclusion of gender in the implementation of the project activities.

The coverage (% of the population included in the information system), relevance (amount/type of data they store), and accessibility (e.g. level of interoperability/data sharing across the government data ecosystem) of these administrative data systems has also been increasing in many countries2 – posing important opportunities and challenges to policy-makers. The question is how to develop these systems in a way that is inclusive and right-based, leveraging technology “to ensure a higher standard of living for the vulnerable and disadvantaged” (Alston, 2019) rather than becoming a further barrier to inclusion. To illustrate the point this paper specifically focuses on gender and disability inclusion, while acknowledging similar considerations apply to all other forms of (intersectional) exclusion.

This report is available to download from the SPACE website here.

It also considers the potential for social protection to support gender-sensitive improvements in water security, including by enhancing women’s and girls’ access to water and by increasing their capacity to manage water-related risks.

The paper argues that the linkages between social protection, water and gender concerns are more substantial than previously recognised, and that they will only become stronger as the effects of climate change and urbanisation intensify.

Failure to explicitly acknowledge and address these linkages could hinder progress across the board, while better cross-sectoral understanding and action promises to generate more sustainable improvements in each sector and help lay the foundations for broader empowerment gains.

An infographic is also available, highlighting how social protection can promote improvements in water security.

The negative impacts of child labour are seen in relation to children’s health, their access to education, and their long-term prospects for getting out of poverty and having a decent standard of living. This Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) examines current evidence on the effectiveness of interventions to combat child labour in four South Asian countries (Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan).

Addressing the following research question, the aim of this study was to produce a Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) to support evidence-informed programming on modern slavery, more specifically child labour:

What has been the effect of interventions to reduce the incidence and prevalence of the worst forms of child labour in Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Nepal?

Conclusions include:

• The evidence was limited in terms of geographic scope, types of child labour, types of interventions, and disaggregation of results by gender and age group; there was negligible disaggregation by disability. Studies were largely observational and therefore limited conclusions can be drawn about the effectiveness of interventions.
• These limitations make it very difficult to draw anything more than indicative conclusions from the REA findings – however  some lessons can be identified from the studies reviewed – including:
  • Interventions addressing the macroeconomic conditions that drive child labour have diverse effects on child labour
  • Rescue and reintegration interventions, and provision of direct support to affected/at-risk families, can be effective if properly resourced and implemented for a sufficient duration.
  • Evidence within the studies of the impact of legislative measures was very limited, but what little evidence there is suggests such approaches are ineffective
  • Interventions driven by Corporate Social Responsibility may be effective in tackling child labour, but do nothing to address wider labour exploitation, and can even make things worse.

This Rapid Evidence Assessment is part of a wider assignment from the Department for International Development to assess the available evidence on modern slavery interventions, including an evidence map:

• Download the static evidence map (Excel)
• Access the interactive evidence map
• Read the full accompanying report
• Read the HEART Rapid Evidence Assessment on human trafficking in South Asia

Trafficking in persons is a form of ‘modern slavery’, which is an umbrella term for the variety of situations in which someone is forcibly controlled by an individual or group for the purpose of exploitation. This Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) examines current evidence on the effectiveness of interventions to combat human trafficking in four South Asian countries (Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan).

Addressing the following research question, the aim of this study was to produce a Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) to support evidence-informed programming on modern slavery, more specifically human trafficking:

What has been the effect of interventions to combat and/or reduce sexual and labour exploitation in Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Nepal?

Conclusions include:

• The evidence was limited in terms of geographic scope, types of trafficking, types of interventions, and disaggregation of results by gender and age group; there was negligible disaggregation by disability. Studies were largely observational and therefore limited conclusions can be drawn about the effectiveness of interventions.
• These limitations make it very difficult to draw anything more than indicative conclusions from the REA findings – however  some lessons can be identified from the studies reviewed – including:
  • Community-based groups are effective at improving the identification and referral of trafficking situations and at addressing the risk factors of trafficking
  • Training for law enforcement, government agencies, and NGOs have resulted in participants identifying and referring victims, registering cases, and closing down places of exploitation
  • Interventions led by sex workers in the form of Self-Regulatory Boards (SRBs) resulted in increased identification of victims of trafficking when sex workers were involved in the screening of new brothel workers and when partnerships were created with law enforcement and NGOs

This Rapid Evidence Assessment is part of a wider assignment from the Department for International Development to assess the available evidence on modern slavery interventions, including an evidence map:

• Download the static evidence map (Excel)
• Access the interactive evidence map
• Read the full accompanying report
• Read the HEART Rapid Evidence Assessment on child labour in South Asia

The SASPp aims to increase access to adaptive social protection systems for poor and vulnerable populations to help them anticipate, absorb, and recover from covariate climate shocks and stresses (such as drought and flooding), and to support national social protection systems to become more adaptive and responsive to shocks and stresses (World Bank, 2019).

With funding from the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) this report sought to assess the gender-sensitivity  of the SASPp, including the extent to which the SASPp considers the differential needs and impact of programme activities on women and men, girls and boys, and uses this information to inform programme design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation.

The following steps were followed to conduct this assessment and provide robust evidence-based recommendations for the SASPp programme team to take forward:

1. A literature review on gendered vulnerabilities and gender dimensions of adaptive social protection systems and what works to ensure they are gender-responsive and transformative.
2. A review of programme documentation to assess the gender-sensitivity in SASP’s design and implementation, including assessing how gender is considered across the programme, and what types of activities are tailored to respond to differential needs of women and men.
3. Key Informant Interviews with staff from the World Bank at headquarters and in-country and national stakeholders of the programme.

You can download the report by clicking the green button, and a presentation is also available here.