Gender and Social Protection in the Developing World: Beyond Mothers and Safety Nets - Hardcover

Holmes, Rebecca; Jones, Nicola

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1780320426 ISBN 13: 9781780320427

Publisher: Zed Books, 2013

Synopsis

This book introduces a much-needed gender lens to debates around social protection. Millions of dollars are invested annually in social protection policies and programs addressing poverty and vulnerability in the developing world. Despite this, little attention has been paid to social protection's role in tackling gendered experiences of poverty and vulnerability. Gender and Social Protection in the Developing World argues that gender-sensitive policy and program design and implementation are essential. Drawing on empirical evidence from Africa, Asia and Latin America, the book provides rich insights. into the effects of a broad range of social protection instruments. It concludes that with relatively simple design changes and investment in implementation capacity there is potential for social protection to contribute to transforming gender relations at the individual, intra-household and community levels.

About this title

About the Author:

Rebecca Holmes is a Research Fellow in the Social Protection Program at the Overseas Development Institute. Her policy research work focuses on the linkages between social protection and social policy and she has particular expertise in gender analysis and social protection instruments. She is currently co-leading a multi-country study on gender and social protection effectiveness with a focus on South and South East Asia. She has also worked in Sub-Saharan Africa on issues of social protection and agricultural growth and on social protection in fragile (and post-conflict) states. She has published widely for a range of academic and policy audiences on social protection and has spoken at a variety of public events and conferences.

Nicola Jones has a PhD in Political Science and is a Research Fellow in the Social Development Program at the Overseas Development Institute. Her research, advice, and public affairs work focuses on gender analysis, social protection, and poverty reduction policies, child wellbeing, and the linkages between knowledge, policy, and power. Since 2007 she has led a number of multi-country studies on child- and gender-sensitive social protection in Africa, Asia, and Latin America for AusAID, DFID, and UNICEF. Prior to joining ODI she worked with a range of GO, NGO and academic agencies in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Pacific on issues of gender, childhood, intra-household dynamics and poverty reduction policies. Nicola has published widely for a range of academic, policy, and practitioner audiences, including two books: Gender and the Political Opportunities of Democratization in South Korea (2006) by Palgrave New York, and Child Poverty, Evidence and Policy: Mainstreaming Children in International Development (2010) with A. Sumner by Policy Press.

Review:

'Holmes and Jones should be congratulated for making this compelling case for gender-sensitive social protection programming. Their considerable experience and expertise ensures this book will be an essential read for hardened "social protectionistas", students, researchers and practitioners.' Professor Armando Barrientos, Senior Research Fellow, World Brooks Poverty Institute, University of Manchester 'This publication highlights a key gap in the current design of social protection programs and policies. Taking into account the barriers that women face in accessing resources, mainstreaming gender equality in social protection interventions is critical. This publication contributes to a rethinking of current interventions on social protection.' Lilian Keene-Mugerwa, Platform For Labour Action 'A timely and critical addition to the literature on this subject - the authors guide the reader to an approach to social protection that leads towards real transformation. Comprehensive yet context specific, this book provides an excellent balance of theory with practical guidance. A must-read for governments, donors, NGOs, consultants, students and academics.' Suzette Mitchell, UN Women (Vietnam) 'Examining the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to social protection in reducing extreme poverty, Rebecca Holmes and Nicola Jones argue that their effectiveness would be greatly increased if they took proper account of gender relations. Unless gender inequality is understood to be playing a major role in perpetuating poverty, current programmes will fail to achieve their potential. Analytically strong with richly illustrated examples based on research carried out in five continents, this book makes an important and welcome contribution to the ongoing debate over how to tackle poverty.' Professor Maxine Molyneux, Director of the Institute of the Americas, University College London 'Holmes and Jones convincingly demonstrate that only social protection policies developed with a gender lens can alter the causes of poverty and vulnerability. Their prescriptions for programme change have the potential to transform lives on the ground. This book should be required reading for academics and practitioners alike.' Liesl Haas, Department of Political Science, California State University 'Providing a rich evidence base on gendered risk and vulnerabilities, this is a valuable analysis of social protection programmes through a gender lens. The authors document the potential and limits of social protection tools in transforming women's lives, providing valuable lessons to policy makers and practitioners that can improve the gender sensitivity and transformative potential of their programmes.' Sarah Cook, Director of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development

About this edition

• Publisher: Zed Books
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1780320426
• ISBN 13: 9781780320427
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 336