Millions of pounds of funding, domestically and internationally, are being invested annually in social protection policies and programmes to address high levels of poverty and vulnerability in the developing world. Poverty is perpetuated by risks and vulnerabilities, many of which are gendered. Time poverty, gender-based violence, discriminatory labour markets and unequal intra-house hold decision-making power all serve to exacerbate gender inequalities and vulnerability. Despite this, little attention has been paid to social protection’s role in tackling gendered experiences of poverty and vulnerability. The speakers at this event will introduce a much-needed gender lens to debates around social protection, drawing on empirical evidence from an AusAID and DFID-funded multi-country study carried out in Africa, Asia and Latin America which examined three sub-sets of social protection instruments: public works programmes, cash and asset transfers, and subsidies. The speakers will discuss policy options for design and implementation changes as a way to harness the potential for social protection to better contribute to transforming gender relations at the individual, intra-household and community levels.  

The two sessions will be based around the following questions (see programme for more details):

1 - What explains the limited involvement of civil society in gender-sensitive social protection initiatives? How can this best be addressed?

2 - What social protection instruments are best suited to different types of gendered social and economic risks and vulnerabilities? How can we better promote cross-country learning on this to offer a broader package of policy and programming options than CCTs alone?

If you are interested in attending these meetings then please contact Jen Morgan: [email protected]