DIGITAL CASH TRANSFERS IN THE TIME OF COVID 19 Opportunities and Considerations for Women’s Inclusion and Empowerment DIGITAL CASH TRANSFERS IN THE TIME OF COVID 19 Opportunities and i_am_zews/Shutterstock.com Considerations for Women’s Inclusion and Empowerment1 I.  The new reality of COVID-19 is when people collect their assistance, and to rapidly dis- burse funds at an unprecedented scale.6 putting women’s empowerment and Programs designed to address gender gaps can have long- gender equality at risk term benefits for women’s empowerment. We envision a future in which the lives of women in poverty will be im- proved because they have greater financial independence Around the world, women are being hit hard by the eco- and agency. Our hypothesis is that direct government cash nomic impacts of COVID-19. As the fallout from the pan- transfers to low-income women as part of a well-designed, demic deepens, so do the short and longer term effects on financially-inclusive G2P program that takes gender biases women’s empowerment.2 The insecurity and lack of social into account can increase women’s control over their per- protection that characterize informal, temporary, unpaid la- sonal financial decisions, enhance their prospects for eco- bor put millions of women and their families at extreme nomic recovery and empowerment, and improve resilience risk: in many developing countries, most women in paid in the long run. work were working informally - around 95 percent in Asia and 89 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa.3 If the risks faced Yet we have already seen that rapid responses can result by women are not actively addressed, the COVID-19 cri- in programs that overwhelmingly fail to address the spe- sis is likely to widen already existing gender inequalities, cific impacts of COVID-19 on women and girls.7 Experi- including the loss of livelihoods, threats to sexual and re- ence from the Ebola crisis and elsewhere has shown that productive health, the burden of care, and  increased vio- the “tyranny of the urgent” often sidelines gender analysis lence against women at home.4 and action.8 Most countries are not yet reporting publicly sex-disaggregated information about beneficiaries, except Governments and multilateral organizations are rapidly de- for categorical programs directed, for example, to widows veloping and expanding social protection systems to reach or to single mothers. The World Bank’s and the Interna- more people more quickly with the assistance they need tional Labour Organization’s (ILO) valuable inventories of to weather and recover from the crisis. As of July 10, 200 emerging programs are not currently publishing sex-dis- countries and territories have expanded or introduced so- aggregated information. Social protection systems that ig- cial protection measures in response to COVID-19, which nore gender inequality will likely fail to mitigate the risks of is a more than four-fold increase reaching 915 million new COVID-19 for women, and, at worst, could further exacer- beneficiaries since March, 2020.5 Social assistance is al- bate inequalities.9 This is especially so when women are ready being adapted in several ways: coverage has been sidelined from positions of leadership, limiting their ability expanded, benefits increased, and administrative require- to influence and inform the design of policy and program ments made simpler and more user-friendly, which are all responses. As governments take bold actions to adapt and welcome developments. In many countries, governments extend social protection by leveraging digital platforms to are opting to digitize government-to-person (G2P) pay- help offset COVID-19’s severe economic impacts, it is criti- ments to limit the risks of personal contact and crowding cal that programs do not inadvertently reinforce inequalities and harmful gender norms. Informed by an understanding en’s experience of cash transfer programs in India, Pakistan, of how men and women are differently situated and impact- and Tanzania, women were often unaware of their benefit ed by the pandemic, it is both feasible and imperative to in- entitlements, the timing of disbursements, what money was tentionally include and empower women as new programs, available in their accounts, and how to use the accounts. 14 policies, and systems to deliver cash transfers are designed and implemented. Five common barriers need to be addressed in order to design and implement the most inclusive and effective In 2019, a consortium of social protection, gender equality, cash-based responses to COVID-19. and digital payments experts developed a three-pronged framework – Digitize, Direct, Design – aimed at enhanc- 1. The Gender Gap in Financial Access. It is difficult to ing women’s economic empowerment through cash trans- rapidly introduce and scale up G2P digital payments to wom- fers.10 The D3 framework offers a bold, experience- and en where there are large barriers to financial inclusion, par- evidence-based vision for accelerating pathways to inclu- ticularly in countries where the appropriate regulatory frame- sion and empowerment of women through cash transfers. work, payment infrastructure, and digital financial services 11 Digitization of transfers may not be possible for all coun- are not yet established. The number of people excluded tries to do easily and quickly. But for those governments that from the formal financial sector fell from 2.5 billion world- already have digital infrastructures in place, or are starting wide in 2011 to 1.7 billion in 2017. But more than half, to design and implement them, this brief will advise them or 56 percent, of those still excluded are women. There on how to digitize cash transfers in ways that proactively has been a persistent gender gap in financial inclusion in empower women and support their inclusion. Building on developing countries, standing at 9 percentage points since the D3 Framework for Women’s Economic Empowerment 2011, despite significant progress in several countries via G2P programs, it outlines why women are at heightened such as India, where the financial inclusion gap fell from 20 risk of exclusion during the rapid scaling and digitization of percentage points to 6 percentage points between 2014 cash transfers, and it offers concrete policy design options and 2017. 15 In several cases, the gap has worsened. In to mitigate exclusion risks and maximize impact. Bangladesh, overall financial inclusion rose from 31 percent to 50 percent between 2014 and 2017,16 but the gender gap widened from 9 percentage points to 29 percentage II.  Why are women at higher risk of points over the same period. exclusion from scaled-up cash transfer Accumulating evidence points to key barriers to women’s response to COVID-19? financial account ownership. These include lack of trust in banking institutions, discriminatory practices and rules, as well as women lacking documentation to open an account, The digitization of cash transfers has emerged as an attrac- insufficient funds, and the cost of owning a financial ac- tive policy solution for countries seeking to expand social count.17 Adverse social norms that restrict women’s work assistance to alleviate the economic hardships created by outside the home also can be a major barrier to women COVID-19 and to advance financial inclusion. Indeed, coun- earning an income and saving enough money to open an tries with advanced G2P payment ecosystems are able to account. For example, almost three quarters of Pakistani move quickly. Chile, India, and Thailand, for example, were men do not think it is acceptable for women to work out- able to leverage digital ID systems to support the unique side the home if they want to.18 Norms around care respon- identification of eligible beneficiaries and facilitate direct sibilities often mean that women need to stay at home or deposit payments to accounts linked to trusted ID creden- must work fewer hours or for lower pay.19 In hard-to-reach tials.12 Such digital approaches can also contribute to ex- or rural settings, there frequently are few bank branches, panding program coverage, while generating efficiencies ATM machines or mobile money agents, limiting women’s and cost savings through reduced leakage. ability to both open accounts and access funds. There remain many challenges, however, to ensuring that 2. The Gender Gap in Official IDs. Identification (ID) is digitization does not exacerbate the exclusion of women often required to enable identity verification for social pro- and girls. For countries that are facing economic collapse tection programs and for meeting know-your-customer (KYC) and soaring poverty, as well as potential social unrest, there requirements for opening financial accounts. When people is a premium on speed and rapid response. Yet even where are unable to access official IDs or cannot reliable prove programs are targeting women, the risks of exclusion are who they are, they can face difficulties in accessing govern- significant.13 In a three-country 2019 assessment of wom- ment programs that they would otherwise be eligible for. 4 FIGURE 1: Gender gaps in account ownership for women who do not have access to cell phones and where restrictive reg- ulations limit the operation of mobile operators. Gender gaps and exclusion from mobile phone ownership across 150 countries show that almost 500 million women were not connected in 2017.25  The largest gender gaps were in South Asia (20 percent), Sub-Saharan Africa (13 percent), and the Middle East and North Africa (10 percent). This digital exclusion has been traced to lack of identification, lack of afford- ability of phones, and adverse norms.26 With SIM registration now mandatory in over 150 countries, lack of govern- ment-recognized identity documents can pose a significant barrier. In low-income countries, lack of identi- fication is strongly negatively correlat- Source: Findex database. ed with mobile ownership, even after Lack of trusted identification can also block people from controlling for characteristics such as income, age, and rural accessing the financial system when KYC requirements residence.27 Normative constraints can also be severe. They for identity verification are restrictive.20 Women can face operate as a key driver of gaps in Bangladesh, where 87 a combination of legal, procedural, economic, and social percent of men own a phone compared with only 67 per- barriers to obtaining official IDs. In some countries, women cent of women.28 While gender gaps in mobile ownership need to present more documents than men to obtain an ID, have narrowed over time, women remain less able to access or even be accompanied by a male relative. In Benin and vital information from the government and health services.29 Pakistan, for example, a married woman cannot apply for a Figure 2 suggests that there is a significant risk of exclu- national ID in the same way as a married man21. Women are sion for women without cell phones, when the delivery of also often less able to afford fees for identity documents, or they have nei- FIGURE 2: Gender gaps in mobile phone ownership ther the time nor resources to travel to distant registration points, making the ID process too onerous and costly for them.22 Data from the 2018 ID4D Global Dataset indicate that an esti- mated one billion people do not have an official proof of identity.23 The data suggests a gender gap in low-income countries, where close to 44 percent of women lack ID, compared to 28 percent of men.24 3. The Gender Gap in Mobile Phone Ownership. While mobile is not the only way to make digital transfers, it is one of the most widely used digital account channels and is an increasingly critical/utilized means of communicating program and pay- ment information. It is more difficult Source: Gallup World Poll 5 information, applications, and the assistance itself is in- III.  Guidance for policymakers on creasingly digital. 30 empowering women through 4. Program Design that Fails to Identify or Seek to Close Gender Gaps. Overlapping disadvantages of lower the rapid scale-up of digital cash levels of literacy and numeracy and higher levels of infor- transfers mality and economic exclusion often mean that fewer women than men are able to apply for and access benefits, or under- stand how to open and use financial accounts. Program de- Deliberate programmatic and policy decisions taken today sign needs to account for the likelihood that women are not can proactively empower women and support their inclu- in paid work, are more likely to work in the informal sector, sion during, and well beyond, the COVID-19 crisis.35 Given are much more likely to take on the role of main caregivers, the urgency and volume of social protection responses to and are often mobility constrained by social norms, rather the crisis, decisionmakers and policymakers need practical than default to a program that works for men. Examples of guidance. At the same time, there is such a diversity of set- the latter include requiring beneficiaries to appear in per- tings that general prescriptions are impossible, and it is not son to meet various program requirements, and using the feasible to create entirely new payment ecosystems amid mobile phone as the sole means of communication about a crisis. In some cases, however, the crisis may represent program benefits. Program designs often lack strong ca- an opportunity to fast track changes that had already been pacity-building components that support women’s skills to considered, or which were underway, and if done right, successfully manage their accounts.31 they can enable outsized gains for women and affected communities as they recover and rebuild from the crisis. 5. Insufficient Gender Data and Analysis to Inform De- cisions. Gender data gaps -- specifically, the collection and The D3 Framework outlines pathways to address gender analysis of empirical (quantitative and qualitative), sex-dis- inequalities as part of program responses, via three basic aggregated data -- weaken our understanding of the con- prongs – Digitize, Direct and Design. This approach is flex- straints facing and needs of women and girls, and can lead ible and adaptable but performs best when certain core to ineffective program design, inadequate benefit levels, and enablers are in place,36 such as effective public financial insufficient monitoring and feedback loops. This will illumi- management systems, network reliability, infrastructure nate such basic questions as the profile of poverty and readiness and pro-financial inclusion policy and regulations. livelihoods, and COVID-19 impacts thereon. Do poor wom- Below we describe each prong and make recommenda- en have their own financial accounts, and do they own cell tions for overcoming various barriers. phones? These diagnostics identify barriers that need to be addressed as part of program development. For example 1. Digitize. in Tanzania, the Financial Inclusion Tracker Survey revealed An electronic payments system offers the possibility of that 70 percent of poor women did not have a financial scaling up G2P social assistance programs at low cost, es- account, neither bank nor mobile money.32 Data are also pecially for reaching remote or hard-to-access people and needed to inform program operators about how to mitigate places. A digitized social protection program that promotes unintended adverse consequences, especially the risk that women’s economic empowerment should be reliable, ac- cash transfers to women can worsen the risk of violence cessible, flexible, secure, and accountable. While digital against women in the home.33 G2P systems have many advantages, especially amidst a Current data gaps mean that we often only have a par- pandemic, what is possible depends on the extent to which tial snapshot of the lives of women and girls and the con- digital payment infrastructure, appropriate regulations, and straints they face.34 Readily accessible ways to cast light on digital financial services (DFS) are in place. Digitization critical questions need to be applied through use of exist- can be a useful means for reducing women’s exclusion, ing data and the types of rapid assessments recommended by providing access to money closer to where women live in Appendix 2. These can illuminate the risks, needs, and and work, and by allowing women to receive funds in dif- hardships faced by women, and inform program design and ferent kinds of accounts, among other benefits. Countries reforms that support women, such as making adjustments that have advanced G2P digital payment systems can push in benefit size and the timing of disbursements. payments out at speed and expand to additional recipients through wider use of retail agent networks, as in Thailand- and Morocco. 37 6 Recommendations in this category include: exist and DFS adoption is low. For example, introduc- ing simplified KYC and basic or no-frills bank accounts, §§ Consider distribution of mobile phones to wom- lifting or increasing transaction limits, facilitating the en without them and explore innovative financ- expansion of agent networks, and promoting interop- ing models. Mobile phones enable women to access erability all can help smooth the way for scaling up information online about social protection, financial digital G2P payments. Tunisia, Peru and Jordan have services and other types of support services.38 Even relaxed regulations to facilitate rapid deployment of if there is a risk that the phones will be used by oth- G2P through digital channels. er family members or lost, the benefits for women in need, particularly given the scale and urgency of the §§ Incentivize electronic payments acceptance. The crisis, could be considerable.39 level of digital money in the country should be as- sessed when selecting a cash benefit delivery system. §§ Explore private sector partnerships to subsidize Measures to expand electronic payments should con- airtime for the poorest and provide key information sider facilitating merchant onboarding and providing services and apps for free. 40 them with incentives to accept digital money. §§ Seek ways to reduce transaction costs and §§ Explore alternate digital transfer methods in mar- strengthen interoperability across financial ser- kets where cellular technology is not widely available, vice providers to overcome barriers associated with or women do not have access to mobile phones. An the cost of sending/receiving cash. ATM card pre-loaded with cash allows a recipient to §§ Create broader agent networks and more conve- withdraw money even if she does not have a financial nient cash-in/cash-out (CICO) points. Most people account. A debit card can be used to pay directly for need to be able to convert digital money into cash. goods at merchants that have a point-of-service (PoS) CICO networks play a critical role in transitioning from device. In some markets, card-less biometrics enable cash-based to fully digital systems, and lack of an ac- payments or disbursements at cash-out points using a cessible network can penalize women, who are often fingerprint to authenticate the recipient. While these al- more time- and mobility-constrained than men.41 Ex- ternative methods can enable access to needed funds, panding CICO points for both new and existing bene- when payments are not linked to a mobile or bank ac- ficiaries, even if not explicitly for women, is shown to count they do not offer a pathway to sustain financial significantly expand access to digital financial services, inclusion. as seen in Ecuador and India. Innovation and expan- sion of CICO is already proving urgent, as COVID-19 2. Direct the money into her account. presents challenges for cash management in agent net- Providing the cash transfer into an account registered in a works.42 woman’s names and to which she has direct access pro- §§ Cash withdrawal needs to occur in ways that re- vides safer and more secure access, more control over use, spect social distancing measures.43 Even beneficia- reduces the risks of having funds appropriated by other ries with bank or mobile money accounts who receive family members, and offers a gateway to additional finan- G2P digitally need to access cash, requiring program cial services like savings, credit, and insurance. She should design that considers ways to avoid exacerbating have control over the account, which ideally would be a spread of the coronavirus. In India, where cash trans- private, fully-functioning financial account that can be uti- fers are being delivered through bank accounts, a stag- lized by her for other transactions. At the same time, it is gered disbursement schedule tied to the last number critical to understand and mitigate risks in environments of the bank account seeks to avoid having large num- where this increases risk of burden on or violence against bers of beneficiaries trying to cash out the same day. women.46 47 India Post has also equipped postal workers with hand- held devices to go door to door and enable people to Recommendations include: withdraw cash based on biometric authentication from §§ Make women the default recipient of cash trans- their own homes.44 In Ecuador, where cash transfers fer schemes. In many countries, by default, the head are being delivered over the counter through bank and of household is the primary recipient of cash trans- agent networks, recipients are assigned withdrawal fers. By way of contrast, Peru’s response to COVID-19 dates based upon the last number of their ID.45 delivers stimulus checks to women in the household §§ Consider regulatory changes In countries where an by default.48 India, which benefited from pre-existing advanced digital payments ecosystem does not yet sex-disaggregated data from its PMJDY program, cou- 7 pled its existing payment and ID technology to rapidly tensions and exacerbate the risk of violence58, a key scale up to send cash transfers to 200 million of the risk to avoid in COVID-19. Direct transfers to women country’s poorest women.49 may also increase the burden on women by requiring §§ Ease KYC requirements. Procedures to register for them to be the sole collector of G2P payments. To off- cash transfers into a financial accounts should not be set these risks, multiple household members could be excessively burdensome for poor women. A tiered KYC authorized to make transactions, and efforts should approach with minimal identity verification require- be made to ensure that program information (eligi- ments for low-risk transactions, as we see in India, bility criteria, transfer purpose, amount, duration and Peru, and Nigeria,50 can improve accessibility. Under so on), are communicated transparently to the whole tiered KYC, if the woman is opening an account to re- community, reaching both men and women. ceive G2P payments, it may be considered at a lower 3. Design the program for her empowerment. risk for money laundering and terrorist-financing activi- ties since the sender is the government, and hence can Social protection programs should aim to enhance pros- qualify for low-tier KYC and possibly even exemptions. pects for women’s economic empowerment, including Identification alternatives that would meet Anti-Money through appropriate coverage, adequate financing and Laundering/Combating Financing of Terrorism (AML/ transfer size, suitable consumer protection and measures CFT) requirements, such as using risk analysis and to support capabilities, as well as avoiding onerous appli- various types of verification even if women lack the cation and onboarding processes that can exclude women. preferred types of official ID, also could expand access Adjustments to existing programs to respond to the crisis for women.51 have already begun around the world, many with the inten- §§ Leverage official identification systems to facilitate tion of empowering women in vulnerable households. registering for benefits, as well as for account opening. Recommendations include: Pakistan’s Ehsaas program was able to quickly register 7.3 million in their COVID-19 cash transfer response §§ Relax conditions on existing cash transfer programs, by allowing for rapid enrollment using the national ID such as conditions tied to children’s schooling or and SMS messaging to register for the transfers,52 al- health, which can reduce the burden on women who though pre-existing gender gaps in that country sug- are typically responsible for fulfilling these conditions59. gest large risks of exclusion.53 Where foundational ID This move can reduce the spread of the virus by lim- systems, such as national ID systems, are non-existent, iting interactions with authorities and providing more not reliable, or difficult to access for poor women, so- economic support to more families. It is important to cial protection programs may also rely on functional ID clearly communicate when conditionality is paused and systems for effective payment delivery.54 when it will resume to ensure confidence in recipients §§ Seek to enable women’s onboarding. Self-help that they won't lose eligibility to conditional cash trans- groups (SHGs) can provide information and support fer program. the expansion of payment systems in ways that are re- §§ Expand and adapt social registries and manage- liable and safe for women. Women’s groups55 and peer ment information systems for collecting sex-dis- support groups56 can serve as networks for more effi- aggregated data. Systems need to reflect economic cient communication.57 Producer cooperatives, savings impacts of COVID-19, given significant increases in groups, non-profits, indigenous people’s organizations the numbers of poor and the depth of poverty, and are all examples of groups that can assist in the out- it is critical that relevant sex-disaggregated data is reach to women. In the Indian state of Bihar, the SHG collected. It will inform decision making and be used entity Jeevika has supported targeting and enrolling to monitor and measure impacts and coverage on a over two million women into the Public Distribution timely basis (see Appendix 2). Social registries could System, and it has provided a critical communication gather better data to understand women’s specific feedback loop between beneficiaries and the local gov- vulnerabilities and constraints, and improve targeting, ernment. which would help during future crises (i.e. “adaptive/ §§ Avert risks of backlash and undue burden. In set- shock responsive social protection”). This will require tings where making payments to women are deemed concerted outreach efforts to the most marginalized. infeasible due to adverse social norms, directing pay- Social registries could also work to de-bias data and ments to women during acute periods of the crisis, move away from the concept of ‘household head’ to- such as during lockdowns,  may intensify household wards the more neutral ‘primary respondent’.60 8 §§ Work with local governments, NGO networks §§ Monitor program functioning. Agile and proactive and associations to identify those in need. These monitoring is needed to ensure receipt of payment is groups can draw on information sources that are often a positive experience. Some states in India, such as better and more up to date than those of the central Andhra Pradesh, are integrating more proactive collec- government. Informal sector workers could be reached tion of recipient feedback by mobile phone to ensure by working through associations that represent them. that people’s experiences were satisfactory and to Support to vulnerable households in Rwanda, for in- monitor local delivery systems.66 stance, includes local leaders doing the targeting for §§ Increase level and duration of assistance to cov- a food distribution program (door-to-door provision of er the COVID-19 economic crisis. Many families basic food stuffs every three days) and cash transfers are likely to require a full income replacement, rather to casual workers.61 62 than supplements. Some governments have temporar- §§ Use diverse modes of communication for infor- ily topped up current social assistance benefits -- for mation and onboarding. The gender gaps in mo- example Indonesia’s Program Keluarga Harapan (PKH) bile phone ownership mean that mobile phone-based program, which targets its poorest citizens, and Ken- communications should be complemented by other ya’s pension, orphan and vulnerable children’s grant.67 platforms, including internet, television, radio, financial In Pakistan, the government is giving an additional service providers, agent banking networks, and trusted Rs1000 for the next four months as emergency relief local organizations and community members. 63 Con- to 4.5 million women who are existing beneficiaries of ducting field research at the design stage and incorpo- its Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), which rating appropriate communication about the decisions targets women with a monthly cash transfer. 68 The around cash transfers can increase acceptance levels burdens on those caring for sick members and children and mitigate risks; for example, research from Bangla- could be recognized through new or supplemental top- desh found high levels of acceptance by both men and up payments. Robust communication with beneficiaries women about moving their benefits from cash delivery is necessary to ensure that all involved understand to digital via the mobile money account of a family what amounts they are receiving in what time frames. member. 64 §§ Introduce new types of targeted cash support. §§ Include well-functioning grievance redressal sys- There is a range of potential innovations opened up tems, with remote options, to allow beneficiaries to by the crisis. Brazil has expanded benefits to informal communicate when and where issues arise, and ensure workers.69 From Algeria to Argentina, countries are be- that consumer protection works for women. Bangla- ginning to implement payments for caregivers. desh is setting up a call center specifically for G2P More broadly, and very importantly, women should have beneficiaries to report challenges, instead of requiring space and a voice at the table. It is critical that women them to just go to the financial service provider. are heard in positions of leadership in order to influence §§ Ensure adequate capacity-building in program de- and inform the design, implementation and adjustments of sign to give women the skills and capabilities needed programs. Existing women’s groups are actively responding to successfully understand program parameters, man- to the crisis on various fronts, and they should be included age accounts, and access information and recourse to contribute their leadership, views, ideas, and innovations mechanisms.65 on design and delivery methods. 9 BOX 1: Confronting Trade-offs Challenges will arise in the midst of a pandemic that require policymakers to make difficult decisions. We recommend that in choosing among options, explicitly consider the implications for gender equality, using all the relevant data and experience that is available. Examples of trade-offs include: §§ In general, cash transfers are more efficient than food transfers, providing greater improvements in dietary diversity and quality. But food transfers can work better to boost per capita caloric intake and may be needed where basic essentials are difficult or expensive to procure.70 Women and children are often the first to reduce food consumption in response to shocks.71 Safely increasing in-kind transfers, such as food or soap, may be recommended, especially where mobility is restricted and supply chains are disrupted. Several governments have recently delivered basic goods, including in India, Jamaica, and Nigeria.72 §§ Where women do not have access to phones, digital transfers may need to go to males in the household with a phone, or other forms of transfers to cash-out points may be used, as in Pakistan where women are biometrically authenticated at designated cash-out points.73 As noted above, messaging should underline that the benefits are intended for the whole family. §§ Social assistance programs typically seek to narrowly target the poor and are adjusted to need, which is believed to be fiscally responsible. However, amidst crisis and mass unemployment, where economic shocks are being faced across many groups in society, lump-sum payments that are as generous as possible are a better route.74 IV.  Conclusions and ways forward The existing momentum around digitization of G2P offers major opportunities to deliver support to people in ways that are both safe and secure, and that reduce leakage. If support is designed and implemented in gender-inten- The COVID-19 crisis calls for rapid and innovative respons- tional ways, it will ensure that women are not left behind. es and creative solutions to address strains on lives and If done well, digitization can contribute toward further fi- livelihoods, particularly for women and girls. Experience nancial inclusion and women’s empowerment. While short- underlines the importance of multi-level analysis of gen- term workarounds will be needed to get financial support der-related gaps and incorporating gender as a priority to people in need during the crisis, it is important to bear in program responses. 75 Now is the time to ensure that in mind the longer term objectives. Given the evolving and women and girls are not left behind, that we are building fluid nature of the COVID-19 crisis, proactive monitoring to critical infrastructure for future shocks, and that responses guard against inadvertent exclusion and to ensure that vul- intentionally seek to meet their needs. Regular monitoring nerable people are fully supported with available resources also needs to be in place to address gaps and take steps will continue to be important for some time. to address exclusion. By affirming their commitment to women’s empowerment through cash transfers and other Gender intentionality is imperative as governments and COVID-related interventions, policymakers have a unique partners around the world put together rapid responses to opportunity to support women and influence social norms the crisis. What is needed, appropriate, and feasible will of in long-lasting ways that encourage women’s interaction course differ by setting. But there are important principles with accounts and help support resilience against future and lessons on which we can draw, which should inform economic shocks. As far as possible, existing knowledge the crafting of policy and program measures in ways that and data need to be rapidly re-examined, and key stake- mitigate the short and long-term impacts of the pandemic holder groups and voices of poor women included, to help on the lives and livelihoods of women and girls. If the re- inform rapid responses appropriate to the local setting. sponse is managed well, the crisis presents an opportuni- ty to enhance the economic empowerment of women and build overall resilience. 10 V. Appendix 1. Examples of social idarity fund for women vendors as part of a broader social protection plan protection responses to COVID-19 • There is no information out yet about how this targeting women plan is being implemented, success, reach etc. §§ Algeria is offering paid leave for all pregnant women §§ Brazil’s cash transfer plan provides funds for sin- and all women who take care of children. gle-mother households that are slightly more than the amount given to two-parent households. This program §§ Argentina is providing paid leave for pregnant women has been approved by Congress but still has to go and all workers who have dependent children. through the Senate. §§ Bolivia is providing paid leave for pregnant women. • However, there seem to be some concerns about §§ Egypt is developing a plan that would increase pay- how well this bill will cover informal workers, and ments to women leaders in rural areas. if the amount of funds will be enough. §§ Ethiopia’s Harari State is granting paid leave for preg- §§ India’s cash transfer plan specifically targets women nant women. from the poorest segments and directs funds directly into PMJDY accounts, which are specific types of ac- §§ Mauritania is allocating funds specifically for 30,000 counts that aim to make financial inclusion available for homes dependent on women, elderly, and disabled all unbanked adults. Because PMJDY databases are al- heads of households. ready sex-disaggregated, the Government of India was able to effect a plan to target and distribute 3 months §§ South Sudan’s Safety Net Project will provide direct of cash transfers to approximately 200 million low in- grants to vulnerable populations who can’t work, in- come women within one week. cluding pregnant and breastfeeding women. • However, a study from Yale found that 176 million §§ Turkey’s cash transfer plan specifically targets women. poor women (53 percent) lack PMJDY accounts Increased amounts will be given to new mothers and and will may be missed in the cash transfers. recent widows. Further, 70 million women in India (21 percent) lack ration cards, which grant access to the cen- §§ Peru’s cash transfers are made to the oldest adult wom- tral food ration system. There is need to create an under 60 (age 18-60) in the household, whenever dynamic systems which can include left-out pop- possible. If no female in the household meets these ulations such that more women can be covered criteria, a male can receive the money. In Peru, the de- through PMJDY and other assistance measures. cision to explicitly enroll women for household benefits was explained by affirming women’s traditional role as §§ Pakistan’s cash transfer program has a separate cate- ensuring the families well-being.76 gory for women. Women who were already receiving cash transfers before the pandemic (“Ehsaas beneficia- §§ Togo launched Novissi, an unconditional cash trans- ries”) will get an increased amount of funds under the fer scheme designed to support all Togolese informal new COVID-19 plan. According to the World Economic workers living in areas where health emergency mea- Forum (WEF), the majority of Ehsaas transfers to date sures are enforced and whose incomes are disrupt- including pre-COVID-19 have been delivered to wom- ed by the COVID-19 response. Women and men re- en in the family. An SMS campaign will be launched to spectively get XOF12,250 (US$20) and XOF10,500 inform citizens of the program. (US$17) per month to meet basic needs (food, wa- ter, power, communication). It already has 1.3 million • However given pre-existing gender gaps, there people registered and has sent money to more than are concerns about exclusion. 500,000 in the region of the capital Greater Lomé alone. The money is sent via the Tmoney and Flooz §§ Burkina Faso’s president announced plans for a sol- mobile money platforms. 11 VI.  Appendix 2: Gender data and Complementary methods – like Intermittent Beneficiary Monitoring (IBM) which collects from small samples via metrics: suggested approaches on phone interviews and non-conspicuous means of data col- indicators for building agile and lection - can allow project teams to identify implementation issues early and take corrective action.78 IBM was used to gender-responsive monitoring and uncover gender bias in the distribution of e- vouchers in evaluation amidst COVID-19 World Bank projects in Mali and Niger, for example. The de- sign phase for the data collection instruments, training, and sampling for IBM typically takes 4-6 staff weeks. It is critically important to track the impacts associated with Further efforts will be needed to understand impacts of the social protection interventions. The Bill and Melinda Gates COVID-related transfers of women’s economic empower- Foundation has established a multi-level evaluation strate- ment and agency. However, given the economic downturn, gy with Mathematica to generate evidence and actionable short-term impacts on women’s economic activity are likely learning that connects the D3 interventions with progress to be minimal, at best. on outcomes for women’s economic empowerment; and to track how women’s participation in G2P programs gener- The table sets out potential indicators; what is most relevant ates greater access to, ownership of, and usage of financial will vary by setting, as will the availability of standardized services among women, and in turn boosts their economic data. The frequency should be at least quarterly – ideally activity, opportunity, assets, and autonomy for women, as monthly. Sources include representative household surveys, well as improves their families’ well-being. To date, assess- as well as key informant interviews with various stakehold- ments have been conducted in India, Pakistan and Tanza- ers and focus group discussions with beneficiary groups, nia.77 as well as methods like IBM. Secondary data sources would include administrative and program data. Additional data In the extraordinary context of the COVID-19 crisis, where on program management could be valuable, for example, creative social protection solutions are being rapidly imple- data about the extent and quality of women’s engagement mented, complementary approaches are needed to build in governance mechanisms at the central and community agile and gender-responsive monitoring. This is needed to levels (e.g. in management and decision making), as well generate information to inform mid-term adjustments as as the number of participants in meetings disaggregated appropriate. by sex.79 A 2018 JPAL guide provides a useful overview of Here we suggest a streamlined approach to gender data measures of women’s empowerment and guidance on data and metrics, limited to key elements that are most relevant collection.80 and appropriate to the emergency - with an eye to the The suggested data should allow for gender-informed medium and longer term.  The focus here is on ongoing analysis of both implementation and outcomes analysis of monitoring using readily accessible and ideally routine data social protection responses. Even without a valid counter- from various sources, rather than fully developed impact factual, the indicators would allow changes over time to be evaluations. assessed and portray a useful descriptive picture of the re- The best information on program effectiveness comes from cipients. Looking across countries, it should be possible to impact evaluations, in the form of randomized control trials, take stock and gather implications for global lessons about or large-scale surveys. But these are expensive, time-con- the gender responsiveness of social protection in the face suming and rarely generate information quickly. Administra- of COVID-19. tive data is useful and important and can become available on a timely, or even real-time, basis but may not be fully reliable. 12 Domain Description Source* Direct Women’s inclusion Share of total recipients that are women Administrative Women’s exclusion Share of eligible women not benefiting from the program Survey Share of female recipients receiving benefits in an account Digitize Administrative (mobile or bank) Recipient owns or has access to a mobile phone, or has SIM card Administrative registered in her name Regular receipt of G2P Recipient received G2P payment into her account (mobile or Administrative payments bank) in the past 30/90/180 days Ownership of mobile money/ Recipient owns a mobile money/bank account Administrative bank account Women’s access to financial Number of access points per capita in a municipality as proxy Administrative services measure Design Recipient is able to operate a mobile phone/ATM/Point of Service Women’s capabilities Survey terminal to make financial transactions Number of transactions by recipient using her mobile money/bank Survey account in the past 30/90/180 days Recipient withdraws payment at agent/ATM herself, without Survey sharing her PIN Recipient understands G2P program rules and eligibility, and Knowledge of G2P program Survey grievance reporting process Recipient had any paid employment (including self-employed) in Paid employment Survey past month, and earnings therefrom Control over income and Recipient has sole or joint control over household income and Survey spending spending Recipient has control over G2P program payments Survey Mobility Recipient reports that she can freely visit the market, health Survey center, friend's house, religious places -- alone Source: Adapted from Mathematica 2019, slides 16-19 *”survey” broadly defined here to include IBM, as well as full household surveys. Some administrative data should be verified using IBM or qualitative methods. 13 VII.  Appendix 4. Useful resources for Digital Cash Transfers in COVID. WOMEN’S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT AND COVID IMPACTS CGAP: COVID-19 (coronavirus) – Insights for Inclusive Finance International Labour Organization (ILO): COVID-19 and the World of Work OECD: Tackling Coronavirus (COVD-19) UN Women: Gender Equality Matters in COVID-19 Response Glenbrook. 2020. Emergency Disbursements during COVID-19: Regulatory Tools for Rapid Account Opening and Oversight. WOMEN’S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT AND SOCIAL PROTECTION International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). 2020. “Why gender-sensitive social protection is critical to the COVID-19 response in low- and middle-income countries.” IFFPRI Blog, April 28. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 2019. “Digitize, Direct, Design (D3) criteria and country studies.” Findev Blog, June 13. Women’s World Banking (WWB) and Fundación Capital. 2019. Five Principles for Building Women’s Capacity for Digital Fi- nancial Services. EVIDENCE OF IMPACTS OF SOCIAL PROTECTION TRANSFERS ON WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT Bardani, Elena and Gisela Garcia. 2014. Social Safety Nets and Gender: Learning From Impact Evaluations and World Bank Projects. Washington, DC: World Bank Bastagli, Francesca et al. 2016. Cash transfers: what does the evidence say? A rigorous review of programme impact and the role of design and implementation features. London: Overseas Development Institute. Beegle, Kathleen, Aline Coudouel, and Emma Monsalve. 2018. Realizing the Full Potential of Social Safety Nets in Africa. Africa Development Forum series. Washington, DC: World Bank de la O Campos, Ana Paula. 2015. Empowering rural women through social protection. Social Protection Division (ESP). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Technical Papers Series #2. Hagen-Zanker, Jessica et al. “The impacts of cash transfers on women and girls: A summary of the evidence.” Overseas Development Institute. Hidrobo, Melissa, Neha Kumar, Tia Palermo, Amber Peterman, and Shalini Roy. 2020. “Gender-sensitive social protection A critical component of the COVID-19 response in low- and middle-income countries.” IFPRI Issue Brief. Innovations for Poverty Action. 2017. “Social Protection: Expanding Economic Opportunities for the Poorest.” Jones, Nicola and Rebecca Holmes. 2011. “Why is Social Protection Gender-blind? The Politics of Gender and Social Protec- tion.” Institute of Development Studies Bulletin. DIGITIZATION CGAP: The Future of G2P Payments: Expanding Customer Choice Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI). 2020. Advancing Women’s Digital Financial Inclusion. GSMA: Connected Women: Accelerating Digital and Financial Inclusion for Women The Better than Cash Alliance. 2016. Responsible Digital Payments Guidelines. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Financial Services for the Poor. 2018. Digital Finance Playbook: Basic DFS Enablers. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 2019. “Digitize, Direct, Design (D3) criteria and country studies.” Findev Blog, June 13. 14 Endnotes 1 Acknowledgements: This brief was produced as a collab- ness and response, Gender & Development, 27:2, 355- oration between the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The 369, DOI: 10.1080/13552074.2019.1615288 World Bank Group, Women’s World Banking, CGAP, and Stanford 9 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. University, under the direction of Michael Wiegand at the Bill 2014. “Social Safety Nets and Gender: Learning from Impact and Melinda Gates Foundation; Greta Bull, Alfonso García Mora, Evaluations and World Bank Projects.” World Bank Group. https:// Caren Grown, Boutheina Guermazi and Michal Rutkowski from ieg.worldbankgroup.org/sites/default/files/Data/reports/ssn-gen- the World Bank Group as part of the G2Px Initiative; and Mary der-ie-full-report.pdf; and, IFPRI guidance: Why gender-sensitive Ellen Iskenderian from Women’s World Banking. This brief was social protection is critical to the COVID-19 response in low- and authored by Jamie M. Zimmerman and Maria A. May of Financial middle-income countries. Services for the Poor program at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Elizabeth Kellison and Jeni Klugman of the 10 Enhancing Women’s Economic Empowerment Through Global Center for Gender Equality at Stanford University. It has Digital Cash Transfers - Digitize/Direct/Design: The D3 Criteria. benefited from the contributions of several individuals across Chamberlin, Kellison, Klugman, Zimmerman 2019. These criteria the World Bank Group including Gregory Chen, Vyjayanti Desai, were developed in consultation with a global panel of financial Lucia Hanmer, Alessandra Heinemann, Leora Klapper, Georgina inclusion, gender, and social-protection experts and partners. It Marin, Anna Metz, and Margaret Miller; and across Women’s was adopted in 2019 into the World Bank’s Gender Smart Social World Banking including Sonia Kelly, Sophie Theis, and Andy Protection Rapid Social Response Fund and it’s criteria are being Woolnough. supported at tested through efforts like the World Bank’s cross GP G2Px program and Women’s World Banking’s policy support 2 CARE, COVID-19 Could Condemn Women to Decades of to several low-income governments. Poverty: Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Women’s and Girls’ Economic Justice and Rights, May 2020 11 See The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation “Equal is Great- er” website and key studies such as Campos (2015). See 3 ILO 2018, Women and men in the informal economy: A Hagen-Zanker et al., 2016, at http://www.cashlearning.org/ statistical picture. Third edition downloads/11374-odi.pdf. See also Klapper, 2016 where the 4 UN Women. 2020. “Policy Brief: The Impact of COVID-19 author outlines positive results from countries such as Mexico, on Women.” Available at: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/ Brazil, and Iran, which have greatly reduced—or eliminated—the headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2020/ gender gaps in account ownership in recent years by closing the policy-brief-the-impact-of-covid-19-on-women-en.pd- account ownership gap via the digital G2P cash transfer system. f?la=en&vs=1406; World Bank Group. 2020. “Gender Dimen- 12 In Chile, the national ID-linked basic account – Cuenta Rut – sions of the COVID-19 Pandemic.” World Bank Group. http:// which covers most low-income people will allow April payments documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/618731587147227244/ of the “Bono COVID-19” directly into the bank accounts of more pdf/Gender-Dimensions-of-the-COVID-19-Pandemic.pdf Peter- than two million vulnerable Chileans. In Peru, authorities are man, Amber, Alina Potts, Megan O'Donnell, Kelly Thompson, Ni- leveraging earlier successes in channeling G2P through accounts yati Shah, Sabine Oertelt-Prigione, and Nicole van Gelder. 2020. to increase payments to old and new beneficiaries during the “Pandemics and Violence Against Women and Children.” Center emergency, and are expanding the set of financial service pro- for Global Development. https://www.cgdev.org/publication/pan- viders – to include private banks, microfinance institutions and demics-and-violence-against-women-and-children. mobile money providers like BIM – to reach additional benefi- 5 The rapidly changing situation is being tracked by the ciaries. The cash transfers aim to reach 6.8 million households, World Bank, which reports on COVID-19 related social protection and by default, the transfer is made to the oldest woman in the program. See live document here: https://www.ugogentilini.net/ household; a male can be appointed if necessary. The purpose wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Country-SP-COVID-responses_ of transferring the funds to women is to ensure that basic family May22.pdf needs are met. See Better Than Cash Alliance Webinar https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wY4cVD9kh4&feature=youtu. 6 https://blogs.worldbank.org/voices/responding-cri- be. Thailand’s recent reforms allow payments to be sent to bank sis-digital-payments-social-protection-short-term-mea- accounts through its fully interoperable PromptPay system in sures-long-term-benefits the context of a rapidly emerging digital payments ecosystem 7 https://www.ifpri.org/blog/why-gender-sensitive-social-pro- reduces the need to cash out. The payment to a unique national tection-critical-covid-19-response-low-and-middle-income ID number (mapped in PromptPay to an account of choice by the beneficiary through their financial service provider) affords 8 Julia Smith (2019) Overcoming the ‘tyranny of the assurance that the payment is being made to an account owned urgent’: integrating gender into disease outbreak prepared- by the intended beneficiary. See World Bank blog: https://blogs. 15 worldbank.org/voices/responding-crisis-digital-payments-so- 23 ‘ID4D Data: Global Identification Challenge by the Numbers cial-protection-short-term-measures-long-term-benefits. Insights from New ID4D-Findex Survey Data. http://id4d.world- bank.org/global-dataset. 13 Pande et al, op cit. https://egc.yale.edu/sites/default/files/ COVID%20Brief.pdf 24 World Bank. 2019. Global ID Coverage, Barriers, and Use by the Numbers: An In-Depth Look at the 2017 ID4D-Findex 14 See for example, pp 38-39 on Bihar India https://www. Survey, Washington, DC: World Bank. findevgateway.org/sites/default/files/publications/files/d3finalre- portbihar.pdf 25 Author estimates based on Gallup World Poll: https://www. gallup.com/analytics/232838/world-poll.aspx 15 Demirgüç-Kunt, Asli, Leora Klapper, Dorothe Singer, San- iya Ansar, and Jake Hess. 2018. The Global Findex Database 26 GSMA report 2020, p. 44-51 2017: Measuring Financial Inclusion and the Fintech Revolution. Washington, DC: World Bank. (this stat includes men and women 27 World Bank. 2019. Global ID Coverage, Barriers, and Use 15+) by the Numbers: An In-Depth Look at the 2017 ID4D-Findex Survey, Washington, DC: World Bank http://documents.world- 16 Demirgüç-Kunt, Asli, Leora Klapper, Dorothe Singer, Saniya bank.org/curated/en/727021583506631652/pdf/Global-ID- Ansar, and Jake Hess. 2018. The Global Findex Database Coverage-Barriers-and-Use-by-the-Numbers-An-In-Depth-Look- 2017: Measuring Financial Inclusion and the Fintech Revolution. at-the-2017-ID4D-Findex-Survey.pdf. Washington, DC: World Bank. (this stat includes men and women 15+) 28 Barboni, G. et al A Tough Call: Understanding Barriers to Mobile Phone Adoption and Use. Evidence for Policy De- 17 Temitope Akin-Fadeyi, “Enhancing Financial Inclusion for sign. Available at: https://epod.cid.harvard.edu/sites/default/ Women in Nigeria,” CGAP (blog), March 8, 2016, www.cgap. files/2018-10/AToughCall.pdf org/blog/enhancing-financial-inclusion-women-nigeria. 29 Gallup World Poll; GSMA. 2020. “Connected Women: The 18 Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security and Mobile Gender Gap Report 2020.” GSMA. Peace Research Institute Oslo, Women, Peace and Security Index 2017/18: Tracking Sustainable Peace through Inclusion, Justice, 30 The digital exclusion of women can be worse in humani- and Security for Women (Washington, D.C.: GIWPS and PRIO, tarian settings. A recent mixed methods study of mobile usage 2017). in Jordan (urban refugees), Rwanda (Kiziba refugee camp) and Uganda (Bidi Bidi refugee settlement) found that the gender 19 M. E. Dávalos et al., Voices of Europe and Central Asia: gap was widest in Bidi Bidi where women are 47 percent less New Insights on Shared Prosperity and Jobs (Washington, D.C.: likely than men to own a mobile phone. A range of methodolog- World Bank, 2016), http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/ ical approaches were employed, including nearly 3,000 survey en/372521478680637391/pdf/109964-v2-REVISED-PUBLIC- interviews and 55 focus group discussions, as well as market Voices-ECA-MAIN-REPORT-EN-Digital.pdf. observations and digital day snapshots with refugees and host community members. See: GSMA. 2018. “The Digital Lives of 20 Leora Klapper, “5 Ways Digital Payments Can Bring Women Refugees: How Displaced Populations Use Mobile Phones and into the Economy,” CGAP (blog), January 19, 2016, www.cgap. What Gets in the Way.” GSMA. Available at: https://www.gsma. org/blog/5-ways-digital-payments-can-bring-women-economy. com/mobilefordevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ 21 Hanmer, Lucia C.; Elefante, Marina. 2019. Achieving The-Digital-Lives-of-Refugees.pdf. Universal Access to ID : Gender-based Legal Barriers Against 31 See Women’s World Banking and Fundacion Capital’s “Five Women and Good Practice Reforms (English). Washington, D.C.: Principles for Building Women’s Capacity for Digital Financial Ser- World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/ vices” which outlines the critical elements of financial capabili- en/606011569301719515/Achieving-Universal-Access-to-ID- ties needed by women and how best to design delivery of these Gender-based-Legal-Barriers-Against-Women-and-Good-Prac- components. tice-Reforms;The World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law provides information on countries that place limitations on wom- 32 Page 30. https://www.findevgateway.org/sites/default/files/ en’s ability to apply for identification. In 35 countries, a married publications/files/d3finalreporttanzania.pdf woman cannot apply for a passport through the same process as married men, and in 11 countries married women cannot apply 33 Ana Maria Buller, Amber Peterman, Meghna Ranganathan, for an ID in the same way as married men. Alexandra Bleile, Melissa Hidrobo, Lori Heise, A Mixed-Method Review of Cash Transfers and Intimate Partner Violence in Low- 22 Inter Agency Social Protection Assessments, Identification and Middle-Income Countries, The World Bank Research Observ- Systems for Social Protection, 2020 https://ispatools.org/tools/ er, Volume 33, Issue 2, August 2018, Pages 218–258, https:// ID-Tool-English.pdf doi.org/10.1093/wbro/lky002 16 34 https://data2x.org/where-are-the-gaps/ 46 A.M. Buller et al., “A Mixed-Method Review of Cash Trans- fers and Intimate Partner Violence in Low- and Middle-Income 35 This section draws heavily on the excellent IFPRI guidance Countries,” World Bank Research Observer 33, no. 2 (August -- https://www.ifpri.org/blog/why-gender-sensitive-social-protec- 2018): 218–58. tion-critical-covid-19-response-low-and-middle-income 47 https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/ 36 Enhancing Women’s Economic Empowerment Through attachments/sections/library/publications/2020/issue-brief- Digital Cash Transfers - Digitize/Direct/Design: The D3 Criteria. covid-19-and-ending-violence-against-women-and-girls-en. Chamberlin, Kellison, Klugman, Zimmerman 2019. These criteria pdf?la=en&vs=5006 were developed in consultation with a global panel of financial inclusion, gender, and social-protection experts and partners. 48 Better Than Cash Alliance Webinar, May 13. Responsible Cash Payments During COVID – Lessons from Jordan, Peru and 37 https://blogs.worldbank.org/voices/responding-cri- Ghana. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wY4cVD9kh4&fea- sis-digital-payments-social-protection-short-term-mea- ture=youtu.be sures-long-term-benefits 49 However, a study from Yale found that 176 million poor 38 World Bank Gender Innovation Lab: Supporting Women women (53 percent) lack PMJDY accounts and will thus be throughout the Coronavirus Emergency Response and Rapid missed in the cash transfers. See Pande et al, op cit. https://egc. Recovery, April 2020. yale.edu/sites/default/files/COVID%20Brief.pdf 39 Roessler, Philip, Flora Myamba, Peter Carroll, and Daniel 50 For further detail on examples, see https://www.fatf-gafi. Nielson. 2016. “From Mobile Phone Ownership to the Uptake org/media/fatf/documents/recommendations/pdfs/Guid- and Usage of Digital Financial Services: Experimental Evidence ance-on-Digital-Identity-Appendice-B.pdf from Tanzania.” College of William and Mary. 51 The recent FATF Guidance on digital ID discusses alterna- 40 In Kenya, fee waivers on person-to-person mobile money tive approaches based on risk. https://www.fatf-gafi.org/publica- transactions on M-PESA were introduced on 17th March, for tions/fatfrecommendations/documents/digital-identity-guidance. three months for person-to-person transactions of under $10, html following a directive from the President, Uhuru Kenyatta, “to explore ways of deepening mobile-money usage to reduce risk 52 Immediate relief for Pakistan’s pandemic-stricken poor, of spreading the virus through physical handling of cash” – World Bank Blogs, May 04, 2020. Responses to the financial impacts of COIVD-19 through social cash transfers and digital payment infrastructure. Caroline Pulver, 53 Shelby Bourgault and Megan O'Donnell, Women’s Access MicroSave Consulting.  to Cash Transfers in Light of COVID-19: The Case of Pakistan. Center for Global Development. JUNE 30, 2020 41 CGAP: https://www.cgap.org/blog/role-cash-incash-out-digi- tal-financial-inclusion 54 Inter Agency Social Protection Assessments, Identification Systems for Social Protection, 2020 https://ispatools.org/tools/ 42 See CGAP “Agent Networks: Vital to COVID-19 Response, ID-Tool-English.pdf, p 8 in Need of Support” available at https://www.cariboudigital.net/ wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Agent-Networks-and-COVID-19- 55 Brody, Carinne, Thomas de Hoop, Martina Vojtkova, Ruby MSC-and-Caribou-Data.pdf and MSC “The Role of DFS Agents Warnock, Megan Dunbar, Padmini Murthy, and Shari L. Dwor- during the COVID-19 crisis” available at https://www.cariboud- kin. 2017. “Economic Self-Help Group Programs for Improving igital.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Agent-Networks-and- Women’s Empowerment.” Campbell Collaboration. https://camp- COVID-19-MSC-and-Caribou-Data.pdf bellcollaboration.org/media/k2/attachments/0219IDCGBrody- Self-helpPLSEN.pdf. 43 François Gerard, Clément Imbert and Kate Orkin. 2020. So- cial Protection Response to the COVID-19 Crisis: Options for 56 “The Potential of Cash-Based Interventions to Pro- Developing Countries mote Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment.” 2019. World Food Programme. https://docs.wfp.org/ 44 https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-post-de- api/documents/WFP-0000102755/download/?- livers-412cr-cash-in-doorstep-banking-revolution/article- ga=2.106008387.196909855.1589217498-1439459583. show/75367465.cms 1589217498. 45 https://www.inclusion.gob.ec/segunda-fase-del-bono-de- proteccion-familiar-por-la-emergencia-inicia-en-mayo-con-550- mil-beneficiarios-mas/ 17 57 The World Bank. 2020. “In India, Women's Self-Help 69 WIEGO, “Government responses to COVID-19 Crisis”, Groups Combat the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Pandem- (April 23, 2020). https://www.wiego.org/government-respons- ic.” World Bank Group. World Bank Group. April 11. https:// es-covid-19-crisis www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2020/04/11/wom- en-self-help-groups-combat-covid19-coronavirus-pandemic-in- 70 Doocy, Shannon, and Hannah Tappis. 2017. “Cash-Based dia?cid=SHRSitesShareTTENEXT. Approaches in Humanitarian Emergencies: A Systematic Review.” Campbell Collaboration. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/ 58 Peterman, Amber, Alina Potts, Megan O'Donnell, Kelly epdf/10.4073/csr.2017.17 Thompson, Niyati Shah, Sabine Oertelt-Prigione, and Nicole van Gelder. 2020. “Pandemics and Violence Against Women 71 de la O Campos, Ana Paula, and Elizabeth Garner. 2014. and Children.” Center for Global Development. https://www. “Women’s Resilience to Food Price Volatility: A Policy Response.” cgdev.org/publication/pandemics-and-violence-against-wom- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. http:// en-and-children. www.fao.org/3/i3617e/i3617e.pdf 59 Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Nets Program has relaxed 72 The Kerala program is being led by the department of conditions so that people can receive benefits without doing the women and child development, but gendered information was public works normally required: Caroline Pulver, May 2020. Gov- not available for the programs in Jamaica and Nigeria. ernments around the world respond to the financial impacts 73 https://blogs.worldbank.org/endpovertyinsouthasia/immedi- of COVID-19 by leveraging social cash transfers and digital ate-relief-pakistans-pandemic-stricken-poor payment infrastructure. MicroSave Consulting  74 IFPRI blog: https://www.ifpri.org/blog/why-gender-sensitive- 60 https://www.cgdev.org/event/household-headship-use- social-protection-critical-covid-19-response-low-and-middle-in- ful-concept-research-and-policy-conversation come 61 https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Re- 75 Julia Smith (2019) Overcoming the ‘tyranny of the sponses-to-COVID-19#R urgent’: integrating gender into disease outbreak prepared- 62 https://africanbusinessmagazine.com/region/east-af- ness and response, Gender & Development, 27:2, 355- rica/rwanda-unveils-social-protection-for-the-vulnera- 369, DOI: 10.1080/13552074.2019.1615288 ble-during-covid-19/ 76 (in Spanish) https://andina.pe/agencia/noticia-las-mu- 63 IFPRI blog: https://www.ifpri.org/blog/why-gender-sensitive- jeres-familias-mas-pobres-cobraran-bono-extraordinario-789479. social-protection-critical-covid-19-response-low-and-middle-in- aspx come 77 Mathematica, WEE-FI Global Evaluation Strategy, Prepared 64 Chandra, Shreya; Franco, Ana Paula; Hussam, Reshmaan; for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. November 2019 Rigol, Natalia; Roth, Ben; Sonchoy, Abu Parves. “The State of 78 Johannes Hoogeveen and Andre-Marie Taptué, Iterative Social Benefits Payments during COVID-19” Beneficiary Monitoring: An Adaptive Approach to Enhancing the 65 See Women’s World Banking and Fundacion Capital Five Implementation of World Bank Projects. Poverty and Equity Note. Principles for Building Women’s Capacity for Digital Financial Ser- Number 4. April 2018. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/ vices en/377031522917012963/pdf/124975-REPL-PUBLIC-POV- Practice-Note-4-4-11.pdf 66 The A2i 333 (triple 3) hotline in Bangladesh, has multiple services one of which was to serve as the GRM for G2P benefi- 79 As done in the World Bank’s Eastern DRC Recovery ciaries. Based on the experience, the Government of Bangladesh Project. See Strengthening Gender Outcomes in Social Protec- is working on a permanent call center. https://a2i.gov.bd/help- tion and Poverty Focused Programs in South Sudan. P169065, line-333/. For India, https://www.cgdev.org/publication/build- June 22, 2019. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/ ing-digital-id-inclusive-services-lessons-india en/823291562245185167/pdf/Strengthening-Gender-Out- comes-in-Social-Protection-and-Poverty-Focused-Programs-in- 67 François Gerard, Clément Imbert and Kate Orkin. 2020. So- South-Sudan.pdf cial Protection Response to the COVID-19 Crisis: Options for Developing Countries https://econfip.org/policy-brief/social-pro- 80 https://www.povertyactionlab.org/sites/default/files/ tection-response-to-the-covid-19-crisis-options-for-developing- research-resources/practical-guide-to-measuring-wom- countries/ ens-and-girls-empowerment-in-impact-evaluations.pdf 68 WIEGO, “Government responses to COVID-19 Crisis”, (April 23, 2020). https://www.wiego.org/government-respons- es-covid-19-crisis 18 19