Gender and Safety Nets– Priorities for Building Back Better1 ALESSANDRA HEINEMANN AND KATHLEEN BEEGLE 06/2021 INTRODUCTION Achieving gender equality and economic inclusion is critical for Existing programs have expanded vertically, meaning they are economic growth and prosperity. The pandemic threatens to topping up payments and introducing extra payment cycles for reverse hard-won gains towards gender equality. Before the crisis, existing beneficiaries who were receiving benefits pre-COVID. women were more likely than men to be engaged in vulnerable They have also expanded horizontally, adding new beneficiaries forms of work in low- and middle-income countries, were that were previously not covered. Informal sector workers are one overrepresented in sectors with the largest economic disruptions, of the groups targeted with this expansion, and millions have been and carried the brunt of increased care work. During the crisis, reached by cash-based programs, many of which are temporary their income opportunities have taken a big hit. In Ethiopia, for (Gentilini 2020). example, women respondents to a phone survey conducted during the early stages of the pandemic were found to be more likely Given tightening government budgets, it is critical that safety than men respondents to have lost their jobs (15 percent versus nets be designed for optimal impact. The prolonged nature of 12 percent) (Ambel et al. 2020). In Latin America, women workers the pandemic is stretching government resources around the were 44 percent more likely than men workers to lose their jobs at world. While evidence demonstrates that cash transfers and other the onset of the COVID-19 crisis. Woman-led microbusinesses, in programs have the potential to close gender gaps and empower the hospitality industry, and in countries more severely affected by women, few programs deliberately set out to do so. Traditionally, the COVID-19 shock were disproportionately affected compared many large-scale cash transfer programs do not engage women with corresponding businesses led by men (Torres et al. 2021). intentionally beyond their roles as mothers and caregivers. Women and older girls also bear a disproportionate share of the Maximizing the potential of cash transfers to support an inclusive care responsibilities arising because of school closures among and sustained recovery requires a strategic approach to address family members affected by COVID-19. Reports of gender-based gender inequality and the gender differentiated impacts of violence have increased around the world. this crisis. The recommendations below take into account the difficult fiscal THE CRITICAL ROLE OF SAFETY NETS pressures facing many governments, not merely those brought on A large body of evidence has established that safety nets are an by this crisis, but also those that existed leading up to the crisis (in effective tool in the fight against poverty.2 They boost household terms of the unsustainable public debt crisis that was looming). consumption, build resilience, increase human capital, and New approaches to domestic resource mobilization, efficiency in promote productive inclusion. Safety nets have emerged as the spending, and new technologies are all part of the broader picture primary policy tool for mitigating the socioeconomic impact to create sustainable financing for safety nets.3 of the pandemic crisis and now cover more than 1.3 billion new beneficiaries. Virtually all countries and territories have introduced social protection measures—more than 1,400—in response to COVID-19; social assistance accounts for more than 60 percent of the response (Gentilini, Almenfi, and Dale 2020). The majority of cash transfer programs are new and temporary. The authors are thankful to Loli Arribas-Baños, Ugo Gentilini, Margaret E. Grosh, Caren Grown, and Yuko Okamura for their valuable comments and suggestions. 1  2 This note focuses on social safety nets—also sometimes known as social assistance programs. These are defined as noncontributory benefits provided either in cash or in kind that are intended to support the poor and the vulnerable (households and individuals particularly exposed to idiosyncratic and covariate risks and lacking sufficient coping mechanisms or resources to mitigate the impacts). They are a component of larger social protection systems that also include contributory social insurance, such as pensions and health insurance, as well as labor market policies and programs. 3 See the discussion in Chapter 5 of Beegle et al. 2018. 1 FOCUS AREAS TO MAXIMIZE health sector database (Ramed) to reach 3 million informal workers. El Salvador used electricity consumption as a proxy to SAFETY NET INVESTMENTS AND select households for a grant of US$300 (those with electricity consumption at less than 250 kilowatt-hours). Other approaches BUILD BACK BETTER for identifying beneficiaries have included a combination of satellite Four priorities among governments and stakeholders are imagery and mobile phone data in the Democratic Republic of highlighted here to build stronger safety net systems that are Congo and Zimbabwe. inclusive of both men and women. Strengthening safety nets to address gender inequality does not necessarily mean specifically Rethinking social registries from a gender perspective can improve targeting women or making women the primary recipients of the the ability to identify vulnerable individuals more accurately. It payments. Greater coverage and stronger, more adaptive delivery is well known that risks do not affect women and men, girls and systems in general can have a disproportionate impact on gender boys equally and that the ability of people to cope with shocks equality outcomes. varies. Moreover, vulnerabilities are often multiple and interlinked. Current social registries often rely on data collected through Maintain and extend coverage among vulnerable household surveys, which, because of the effort involved, can only groups, prioritizing women and taking be updated periodically. As countries invest in the expansion of the specific needs of women into account social registries, they should explore links with more dynamic data that allow for the identification of gender-specific vulnerabilities. Since the onset of the pandemic, safety net coverage has This would enable the design of better targeted responses in increased significantly. In several countries, schemes have future crises, whether economic, climate, or health related. extended coverage to informal sector workers, such as street vendors, market sellers, and waste-pickers—occupations in which In addition to investments in social registries, adaptive delivery women are overrepresented. For example, Brazil introduced an systems require robust case management and referrals systems. emergency cash transfer of R$600 (US$107) for adults without Resources should be expanded to support social workers in formal jobs who live in households with a per capita income referring beneficiaries to other available services in addition to below half the minimum wage. Single mothers and woman heads social assistance. This includes social services such as health of household receive double the benefit. Similarly, Togo’s Novissi and education, mental health, parenting programs, as well as scheme supports all informal workers whose incomes have been productive economic opportunity programs (trainings, extension disrupted by the pandemic, providing higher benefits to women to agents, etc.). meet basic needs (about 20 percent higher relative to men). Some countries have forged innovative partnerships with associations And underpinning these areas is the need for foundational of informal sector workers or women’s groups to reach and enroll identification systems for fast, efficient crisis response. Identification large numbers of new beneficiaries quickly. In the Indian state of is often a precondition to accessing safety nets and other services. Bihar, for example, self-help groups have been critical in reaching Yet, as many as 45 percent of women in low-income countries do vulnerable women during the COVID-19 response. not have access to foundational IDs, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.5 Policy barriers, that make it difficult The most recent data available suggest that, prepandemic, close for women to access ID cards, apply for passports, or register the to 80 percent of the population in low-income countries lacked any birth of children, remains. Some countries require permission from social protection coverage.4 In lower-middle-income and middle- a male guardian or documentation not required of men, making income countries, the share stood at around 40 percent. To ensure it more burdensome for a woman than a man to obtain an ID or a robust recovery, social protection systems, of which safety the foundational documents needed to get one. Other constraints, nets are one part, need to cover not only the poorest, but also such as mobility restrictions, care burdens, the inability to use or other excluded populations, until economic activity resumes and access information and communication technology (ICT), and lack people can rebuild their livelihoods. Schemes should consider of agency, compound the gender gap in ID access. differentiated benefits for groups that are particularly vulnerable. Leverage digital technologies to reach and Invest in adaptive delivery systems that recognize empower women in safety net programs women and girls’ specific vulnerabilities Cash transfers that are delivered digitally offer tremendous The pandemic has also highlighted the value and importance potential to close the gender gaps in financial inclusion (Bill and of investments in adaptive delivery systems for safety nets. For Melinda Gates Foundation et al. 2020). Direct payments create a example, those countries relying on social registries that included gateway to savings, credit, and other financial services provided people beyond the poorest were able to extend the safety net that payments go hand in hand with training among those with quickly to the previously uncovered. In lieu of an existing registry, low levels of financial and digital literacy. Depositing payments some countries resorted to alternative data sources to identify directly into women’s accounts can increase women’s control over beneficiaries. For example, Morocco was able to tap an existing funds and improve safety. If payments are made through mobile See statistics at https://www.worldbank.org/en/data/datatopics/aspire 4  5 See more statistics at https://id4d.worldbank.org/global-dataset. 2 money, women need to own, control, and have the digital literacy Realizing the potential that social protection holds for women to use a mobile phone. Payments delivered through mobile money and girls in the context of COVID-19 requires deliberate can potentially be bundled with information and services that are experimentation, measurement, and learning. In particular, there is also delivered digitally, enabling scale at low cost. promising evidence that cash transfers can reduce gender-based violence. For example, a randomized control trial in Bangladesh Safety net programs and digital technologies can be leveraged found that, if cash or food transfers are provided with behavior to close gender gaps in financial inclusion and mobile phone change communication on nutrition, a decrease in intimate partner ownership. A women’s empowerment cash transfer program in violence was sustained four years after the intervention had ended Zambia, for example, provided women with a choice of payment (Roy et al. 2018). These findings are particularly relevant given providers, thereby maximizing convenience and accessibility, while the reports of increased violence against women as a result of also promoting competition among service providers. Crucially, it lockdowns, reduced mobility, economic stress on households, and also provided phones to those women who did not own one and disruptions in access to services. Schemes should systematically supplied extensive financial literacy training to enhance budget explore design variations and measure impact across a range management and encourage saving. of outcome areas, so it will be possible to learn, scale the most effective approaches, and go beyond cash.  nvest in cash plus approaches to tackle multiple I gender gaps simultaneously CONCLUSION Cash plus approaches, whereby safety net payments are combined with information and complementary services, Over the last decade, safety net programs have expanded in low- have been shown to deliver on various dimensions of women’s and middle-income countries. There is a large and growing body of empowerment. One promising set of cash plus interventions are evidence showing that these programs are effective at improving those focused on economic inclusion. They bundle cash transfers the socioeconomic well-being of poor households. It is probably with other features, such as assets, training and coaching, to not an understatement to say that such programs are a main ensure beneficiaries can build livelihoods and break out of poverty pillar in the policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As these traps. A recent survey of economic inclusion programs found that programs grow in scope and size, they can become powerful tools the vast majority of participants are women and that a significant in addressing gender inequality and empowering women and share of programs had design features that were explicitly aimed girls. This brief outlines four broad entry points to consider toward at empowering women by increasing their control over resources that goal. The sustainable financing of this ambitious agenda is and agency (Andrews et al. 2021). Some of these programs seek to critical because investments in safety nets should not occur at the address multiple constraints at once, including broader contextual expense of or compromise other critical areas of service delivery. factors, such as engaging with communities to challenge harmful social norms. Increasingly, productive inclusion programs are being implemented at scale through government structures, as in the Sahel region (Archibald, Bossuroy, and Premand 2021). Investment and experimentation can push this model to close the gaps in women’s entrepreneurship and labor force participation. 3 REFERENCES Ambel, A. A., L. M. Cardona Sosa, A. H. Tsegay, and C. Wieser. 2020. “Results from Six Rounds of High-Frequency Household Phone Surveys.” Monitoring COVID-19 Impacts on Households in Ethiopia, Report 7 (December 21), World Bank, Washington, DC. Andrews, C., A. de Montesquiou, I. Arévalo Sánchez, P. V. Dutta, B. V. Paul, S. Samaranayake, J. Heisey, T. Clay, and S. 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