Rapid Social Response Adaptive and Dynamic Social Protection Umbrella Program Gender Window Review Report OCTOBER 2024 © 2024 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000 Internet: www.worldbank.org This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Direc- tors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or currency of the data included in this work and does not assume responsibility for any errors, omissions, or discrepancies in the information, or liability with respect to the use of or failure to use the information, methods, processes, or conclusions set forth. 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Cover photo: Beekeeper in Kenya, © Dana Smillie/World Bank Cover design/layout and editing: Nita Congress RAPID SOCIAL RESPONSE ADAPTIVE AND DYNAMIC SOCIAL PROTECTION UMBRELLA PROGRAM Gender Window Review Report OCTOBER 2024 Table of Contents Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii 1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Objectives and scope of the review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Structure of the report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Analytical approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Data and information collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 3 Main Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Descriptive analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Influence of RSR-ADSP Gender Window activities in the social protection sector in client countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Influence of RSR-ADSP Gender Window on key development outcomes . . . 20 4 Synthesis of Key Learnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 5 Conclusion and Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 iii iv  ●  RSR-ADSP Gender Window Review Report October 2024 Appendixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 A RSR-ADSP Gender Window Grants, Rounds 16–21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 B Implementation Progress of Round 21 Grants (as of May 2024) . . . . . . . . . 43 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Boxes 3.1 Operationalizing the Child Daycare Act in Bangladesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 3.2 Promoting women’s labor and productive inclusion in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ecuador and Peru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 3.3 Strengthening women’s economic opportunities and resilience in the Caribbean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 3.4 Informing the design of gender-smart social protection programs in the Republic of Congo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 3.5 Piloting a community-led outreach model for women and vulnerable populations in Indonesia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 3.6 Building an adaptive and gender-responsive social protection system in Bhutan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Figures 3.1 Regional distribution of Gender Window grants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 3.2 Gender Window grants by country economic level and FCV status . . . . . . 9 3.3 Thematic areas addressed by RSR-ADSP Gender Window activities . . . . 10 3.4 Distribution of knowledge and learning products developed (number) . 10 3.5 Knowledge and learning products by region (number) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 3.6 Dissemination status of knowledge products and target audience . . . . . . 11 3.7 Influence of RSR gender grants on World Bank investments, Rounds 16–20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 3.8 Selected gender equality outcome indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Tables 3.1 Number of surveys harmonized with the new data process . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 3.2 Programs with data on gender variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Acknowledgments T his review was conducted by the Gender The authors acknowledge the generous support of Window team of the Rapid Social Response the RSR-ADSP donors/development partners—the Adaptive and Dynamic Social Protection Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, Norway, umbrella program (RSR-ADSP), consisting of Afrah Sweden, Australia, the United States Agency for Al-Ahmadi (Senior Social Protection Specialist and International Development, the Bill & Melinda Gates Gender Lead), Callistus Agbaam (Social Protection Foundation, Denmark, the UBS Optimus Foundation, and Gender Consultant), and Barsha Dharel (Social and the GHR Foundation—and their active ongoing Protection and Gender Consultant). The team also engagement in the overall umbrella program. authored the report. We also acknowledge the guidance, advice, and The authors would like to acknowledge the guid- strategic leadership of the RSR-ADSP Program ance, comments, and contribution from the Management Committee—consisting of the Global RSR-ADSP Core Team: Mattias Lundberg, Social Directors for Social Protection; Education; Health, Protection Partnerships Adviser and RSR-ADSP Nutrition, and Population; and Gender—of the Program Manager/Senior Economist; Emily Social Protection Leadership Team—consisting of Weedon, Senior Economist; Jose Chavez, Social Pro- the Global Director, Regional Directors, Practice tection Specialist; and Shams ur Rehman, Program Manager, Global Engagement Manager, Regional Analyst. For their valuable comments on an earlier Practice Managers, and Global Leads—and of the draft of this report, the team also wishes to thank Vice President of the Human Development Prac- Sandor Karacsony, Senior Economist; Nadia Selim, tice Group. Senior Social Protection Specialist; Claudia Rodri- guez, Senior Social Protection Specialist; Enurlaela We would like to acknowledge all RSR-ADSP Hasanah, Senior Social Development Specialist; Gender Window task team leaders and their team Claudia Zambra Taibo, Senior Social Protection members for providing inputs to the review and Specialist; Sabine Beddies, Senior Urban Specialist; to this report. It is because of their hard work, cre- Kenia Parsons, Senior Social Protection Specialist; ativity, commitment to excellence, and dedication and Anne Hilger, Economist. Thanks are extended to their clients that the RSR has been catalytic and to Rachel Mason, Gender and Social Protection successful throughout the years. Lead, UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Develop- The authors are grateful for the editorial and design ment Office (FCDO); and Jacqui Powell, Australian support provided by Nita Congress. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). v Abbreviations ASPIRE Atlas of Social Protection Indicators of Resilience and Equity conditional cash transfer CCT early childhood development ECD fragility, conflict, and violence FCV gender-based violence GBV IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and Development International Development Association IDA Keeping Girls in School KGS management information system MIS NGO nongovernmental organization RSR-ADSP Rapid Social Response Adaptive and Dynamic Social Protection WASH water, sanitation, and hygiene All dollar amounts are US dollars unless otherwise indicated. vi Executive Summary Background engagements on promoting gender-responsive social protection systems globally. Established in 2018, the Rapid Social Response The review is based on data collected from multi- Adaptive and Dynamic Social Protection ple sources. The team gathered the necessary data (RSR-ADSP) Gender Window aims to promote through a combination of desk research, an online gender-transformative social protection policies, survey using a semi-structured questionnaire tar- systems and programs, and to improve socioeco- geting task team leaders, and personal interviews nomic outcomes for women and girls globally. with selected task team leaders of grants that Since its launch, the RSR-ADSP Gender Window showed significant impact or influence on devel- has disbursed nearly $18.4 million in catalytic small opment outcomes. grants to social protection task teams in over 50 countries worldwide. This funding has enabled the design and implementation of gender-responsive Main findings social protection interventions that contribute to closing gender gaps across different thematic areas The RSR-ADSP Gender Window has influenced and empower women and girls. After six success- World Bank investments. Through Rounds 16–20, ful rounds of calls for proposals (Rounds 16-21), the the RSR-ADSP Gender Window has influenced over current phase of the RSR-ADSP Gender Window is 63 World Bank IDA and IBRD operations totaling scheduled to close in December 2024. $9.6  billion in financing. These larger operations have reached over 108.6 million individuals, includ- The objective of this report is to present a com- ing 56.6  million women and girls. Additionally, prehensive review of the activities funded under approximately $5.2  million of the total RSR-ADSP the RSR-ADSP Gender Window. Specifically, it aims Gender Window funding has been allocated to to synthesize the key thematic learnings from the countries experiencing fragility, conflict, and vio- analytical products developed under the RSR-ADSP lence (FCV), through 18 small grants enabling task Gender Window, and assess the influence of RSR teams to address and operationalize various gender gender funded activities on World Bank invest- thematic issues in these countries. ments, policy action and operational engagements in the client countries. By doing so, this review The RSR-ADSP Gender Window has influenced highlights the successes and achievements of the policy action and operational engagement in RSR-ADSP Gender Window, explores opportuni- client countries. Evidence from this review has ties to address emerging global challenges, and demonstrated that several RSR-ADSP Gender provides recommendations to enhance future Window interventions have served as critical vii viii  ●  RSR-ADSP Gender Window Review Report October 2024 entry points for policy dialogue and engagement Evidence from the knowledge synthesis shows on gender equality issues in client countries. that the RSR-ADSP Gender Window has signifi- For example, in Tonga, the RSR-ADSP Gender cantly contributed to identifying and addressing Window grant was instrumental in developing barriers to gender equality, as well as showcas- a National Social Protection Policy that incor- ing promising interventions to improve gender porated gender-responsive considerations, outcomes in client countries. Findings from the promoting equality and inclusivity in social pro- synthesis highlight several key factors exacerbat- tection reforms. Additionally, several RSR-ADSP ing gender inequalities, including discriminatory Gender Window interventions have supported social norms, lack of affordable childcare, limited gender-responsive operational design and access to technology, low levels of education and implementation in new and ongoing World skills attainment, underrepresentation of women Bank-funded operations, influenced program in leadership, and the impact of fragility, conflict, scale-up, and strengthened sustainability by and violence. Additionally, the review underscores consolidating results and outputs from ongoing the potential of gender-responsive cash transfers and past initiatives. For instance, in Burundi, and economic inclusion programs, active labor technical assistance from the RSR-ADSP Gender market programs, access to education and skills Window was instrumental in shaping the eco- development programs, availability of quality and nomic inclusion component of the Cash for affordable childcare, and community-level dia- Jobs Project (P175327) and in operationalizing logue and engagement as effective strategies to the Unified Social Registry, ensuring they better promote gender equality outcomes. serve the needs of vulnerable populations, par- ticularly women. Despite significant investments in evidence building, knowledge gaps remain. A review of The RSR-ADSP Gender Window has contributed the evidence generated under the RSR-ADSP to achieving gender-related development out- Gender Window activities reveals that there are comes in client countries. Nearly all RSR-ADSP still knowledge gaps particularly with respect to Gender Window interventions have been associ- understanding and addressing the intersectionality ated with larger World Bank financed operations. between gender and global megatrends, including Evidence show that these larger operations have climate change, FCV, food and nutrition security, significantly increased access to economic and digitalization. Additionally, analytical evidence opportunities, facilitated human capital accumu- on quality standards and the differentiated impact lation through education, health and skills training, of various childcare delivery models is limited and improved access to GBV prevention and refer- requires further attention. ral services, enhanced access to technology, and increased the availability of sex-disaggregated data for evidence-based policy making. For example, Conclusion and approximately 27.6 million women have benefited recommendations from access to improved economic opportunities The RSR-ADSP Gender Window has been including productive inclusion activities and live- instrumental in developing and promoting lihood support programs. Also, about 8.9  million gender-responsive social protection policies, women have benefited from improved access to systems, and programs aimed at reducing gender digital payment systems, and another 5.5  million gaps and boosting socioeconomic outcomes for women have accessed education and skills training women and girls. Through its support for a diverse programs through these interventions. Executive Summary  ●  ix range of innovative activities, the RSR-ADSP Gender date by scaling up successful interventions and Window has addressed multiple sources of vul- addressing existing challenges and knowledge nerability that limit opportunities for women and gaps. Additionally, a future RSR-ADSP Gender girls. By leveraging larger World Bank financing Window should expand the geographical scope instruments, the RSR-ADSP Gender Window has and systematize the learning from high-impact amplified its impact, demonstrating the importance interventions. It should also deepen research of gender-responsive approaches in achieving sus- and innovation into global megatrends, leverage tainable development goals. Moving forward, it is country-level work to elevate learnings to regional recommended that the RSR-ADSP Gender Window and global levels, and support partnership building should build on the significant gains achieved to and cross-institutional learning. 1 Introduction Background The Rapid Social Response Adaptive and Dynamic Social Protection Umbrella Program (RSR-ADSP) is a key initiative for implementing the World Bank’s social protection strategies. Established in 2009, the program provides financial support and technical expertise to some of the world’s poorest countries, enabling them to build effective and adaptive social protection systems designed to respond to evolving challenges and urgent social needs, particularly for poor and vulnerable households. Since its inception, the RSR-ADSP has distributed approximately $141  million in catalytic grants to over 100 client countries worldwide, with a focus on those eligible for borrowing from the International Development Associa- tion (IDA), the World Bank fund for the poorest countries. These grants have helped safeguard the well-being of vulnerable households during crises and supported continued investments in human capital and sustainable liveli- hoods for all. The program’s efforts have helped countries develop robust social protection mechanisms capable of addressing both immediate and long-term needs, promoting resilience and economic stability. Launched in 2018, the RSR-ADSP Gender Window aims to promote gender-transformative social protection policies, systems, and programs to reduce gender gaps and improve socioeconomic outcomes for women and girls. Since its launch, the RSR-ADSP Gender Window has distributed nearly $18.4 million across more than 50 countries through six rounds of small grants (see appendix A). These grants have funded activities focused on closing gender gaps, expanding opportunities, enhancing productivity, supporting women’s labor force participation, and empowering women economically. Activities supported under this window have focused explic- itly on building evidence of effective interventions, gender data gathering, developing operational tools and manuals, providing technical assistance for program design and implementation, facilitating knowledge exchange and learning among client countries, and supporting capacity building. 1 2  ●  RSR-ADSP Gender Window Review Report October 2024 After six successful rounds of calls for proposals ● Synthesizes the thematic learnings from the (Rounds 16–21), the current phase of the RSR-ADSP analytical products developed by respective Gender Window will close in December 2024. task teams at the country level; This report reviews the activities implemented under the Gender Window, highlighting suc- ● Assesses the influence of RSR-ADSP cesses and achievements, and knowledge gaps gender-funded activities on World Bank IDA as well as opportunities to address the emerging and International Bank for Reconstruction and global challenges for future programming. It also Development (IBRD) investments and oper- offers insights for continued efforts in promoting ational engagements in client countries, and gender-transformative social protection policies their impact on development outcomes; and programs. The report is primarily targeted at ● Examines how the experiences and lessons World Bank task teams and donors by providing from the current phase of the Gender Window actionable knowledge on gender issues in social can inform future programming in light of protection operations across all regions. Beyond the changing global priorities; and World Bank, the report targets a global audience, offering insights to practitioners and researchers— ● Provides recommendations to enhance future particularly those working at the intersection of engagements on promoting gender-responsive social protection and gender equality at country, social protection systems building on the regional, and global levels. lessons and achievements to date, and to inform social protection dialogue with program T H E R E P O R T TA R G E T S donors along these lines. A GLOBAL AUDIENCE, P A R T I C U L A R LY T H O S E Structure of the report W O R K I N G AT T H E This report is organized into five sections. This first INTERSECTION OF SOCIAL section  presents the background and objectives PROTECTION AND GENDER of the review. Section 2 highlights the methodol- ogy and approach adopted. Section 3 presents the E Q U A L I T Y AT C O U N T R Y, main findings of the review. It provides a detailed REGIONAL, AND GLOBAL description of the RSR-ADSP Gender Window LEVELS. activities and assesses the influence of these grants on World Bank investments (IDA and IBRD), policy action, operational engagement, and key develop- Objectives and scope of the ment outcomes within the social protection sector review in client countries. Section 4 provides a synthesis of key learnings from the knowledge and learning The objective of this review is to provide a compre- products developed under the Gender Window. hensive assessment and appraisal of the activities Finally, section 5 presents an overall conclusion to funded under the RSR-ADSP Gender Window. Spe- the report, provides recommendations to address cifically, the review the issues identified, and proposes a way forward. 2 Methodology Analytical approach This review was divided into two main components: ● The first component consisted of a detailed analysis of the influence of RSR-ADSP gender-funded activities on World Bank investments (IDA and IBRD), policy/operational engagement and key development out- comes in the social protection sector in client countries. A combination of both qualitative and quantitative analytical methods were used to help achieve this objective. ● The second component of the review focused on evidence mapping or a synthesis of key learnings from the knowledge and learning products developed under the RSR-ADSP Gender Window using a rapid review approach. Rapid reviews provide a streamlined approach for synthesiz- ing knowledge and evidence in a timely and comprehensive manner. The approach is useful in providing relevant insights and learnings from the various thematic areas covered under RSR-ADSP gender-funded activities. The analytical foundation of this review is informed by the World Bank Gender Strategy 2024-2030 and the Social Protection and Jobs Compass Strategy (2023-2028). The Gender Strategy emphasizes the need to promote innovative and evidence-based solutions, strategic financing, and collective action to accelerate gender equality for a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive future by ending gender-based violence, elevating human capital, expanding economic opportunities, and engaging women as leaders. The Social Protection and Jobs Compass Strategy highlights the role of social protection in promoting equity, growing opportunity, and increasing resilience for all—including poor and vulnerable groups such as women and girls. 4 2: Methodology  ●  5 Data and information answered the online survey—a response rate of 84 collection percent. Interviews. The research team conducted detailed The review employed a mixed-methods approach personal interviews—online via Microsoft Teams— to collect and analyze the relevant data and infor- with selected task team leaders managing grants mation. The specific methods used included desk that showed the most promise in terms of impact/ research, an online survey, and qualitative personal influence on development outcomes. The team interviews with selected task team leaders. was able to conduct 9 of the 10 interviews planned; Desk research. Desk research for this review pro- these covered 4 grants in Africa, 2 in South Asia, 2 in ceeded into two distinct stages. In the first stage, Latin America and the Caribbean, and 1 in East Asia secondary data—including past project reports, and Pacific. grant proposals, and policy documents on the Following the preparation of the draft review report, RSR-ADSP umbrella trust fund—were reviewed the research team organized an online validation to provide some background knowledge on the workshop to share the preliminary findings with operations of the Gender Window. In the second key stakeholders; these included Gender Window stage, a more detailed review of knowledge and task team leaders, regional gender focal points, learning products (project reports, policy briefs, RSR-ADSP management, and the Social Protection strategy papers, technical notes, impact evalua- and Jobs Gender Team. The comments and feed- tions, etc.) developed by the various task teams back received during the validation workshop have under the RSR-ADSP Gender Window was con- been duly incorporated into this final report. ducted. The aim of this review was to synthesize the evidence generated from the knowledge and learning products, distilling key learnings, and high- Limitations lighting promising solutions to closing gender gaps in various thematic areas such as women’s eco- There are a few limitations to this review. nomic empowerment; social norms; gender-based violence; fragility, conflict, and violence; human ● Although the RSR-ADSP Gender Window has capital; digital technology; and climate change. provided funding support covering Rounds 16–21, this review primarily focuses on infor- Online survey. To obtain more detailed information mation from grants under Rounds 16–20. The on grant activities and their influence on develop- exclusion of grants under Round  21 is due to ment outcomes, a semistructured questionnaire the fact that, at the time of the online survey was used to collect relevant information from rollout, project implementation activities for RSR-ADSP Gender Window grant task team leaders these grants had barely commenced or were (covering Rounds 16–20) via an online survey at an early stage, since they had only been administered internally. The questionnaire covered awarded in August 2023. A summary of prog- grant information; knowledge generation, dissemi- ress on all Round 21 grants is provided in nation, and utilization; link to IDA/IBRD operations; appendix B. influence of the gender grant on policy action and operational engagement in the client country; and ● While the online survey targeted all 64 task the influence or impact of the grant on wider devel- team leaders from Gender Window Rounds opment outcomes in the client country. In all, 54 16-20, only 54 responded. As a result, the anal- of the 64 Gender Window grant task team leaders ysis in some sections of this report excludes the 6  ●  RSR-ADSP Gender Window Review Report October 2024 10 grants for which responses were not received. via the online survey are still active. Because Information on these grants is only included in project implementation activities for these the descriptive analysis where available. grants are still ongoing, some of the results or outcomes reported here may be tentative or ● It is important to note that approximately 20 incomplete. of the 54 grants for which data were collected 3 Main Findings Descriptive analysis Regional distribution of activities For Rounds 16–20, the RSR-ADSP Gender Window has supported a total of 64 activities in over 40 countries worldwide through grants amount- ing to nearly $16.1 million. Although these grants were distributed globally, the majority are concentrated in Africa (figure 3.1). The concentration of Gender Window grants in Africa is largely influenced by design and donor requirements, which mandate targeting funding support to low- and low-middle-income countries where gender inequality issues are partic- ularly acute. Across all regions, the types of activities supported by the RSR-ADSP Gender Window included data gathering, evidence mapping, develop- ment of operational tools and manuals, technical assistance to support the design and implementation of policies and programs, knowledge exchange and learning, and capacity building. Distribution of activities by economic level and FCV status The majority of Gender Window grant activities (63  percent) were implemented in IDA countries, with only 17  percent in IBRD countries. Approximately 20 percent of activities were implemented in countries with simultaneous access to both IDA and IBRD lending—i.e., blend countries (figure 3.2a). This skew toward IDA countries is not surprising, given that most grant recipient countries were in Africa. In addition, just about one-third of the grants were implemented in countries affected by fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV) (figure 3.2b). Given that gender inequalities tend to be exac- erbated in FCV settings where women and girls often experience poorer outcomes, it is important critical to increase the proportion of RSR-ADSP Gender Window grant activities that address gender inequality issues in FCV countries. This shift would ensure that the most-vulnerable populations 8 3:  Main Findings  ●  9 Figure 3.1  Regional distribution of receive the support they need to achieve better 45+17+14112z Gender Window grants socioeconomic outcomes. 2% (1) Key thematic areas covered 11% ●  Africa (7) A majority of RSR-ADSP Gender Window grants ●  East Asia & Pacific 11% addressed topics or issues related to women’s (7) ●  South Asia 45% economic empowerment. As shown in figure  3.3, (29) ●  Latin Am. & Carib. 14% ●  Global numerous grants addressed issues related to human (9) ●  Mid. East & N. Afr. endowments and human capital, the care economy, 17% social norms, and gender-based violence (GBV). (12) Fewer projects tackled issues related to climate change and climate action; FCV, displacement, and Source: Original calculations based on RSR Gender Window administrative data. refugees;1 leadership and decision-making; and Note: Numbers of grants are in parentheses. access to technology for women and girls. This anal- ysis shows that, within the scope of the RSR-ADSP Gender Window, grant activities have largely focused on income poverty and improving economic oppor- Figure 3.2  Gender Window grants by tunities. Conversely, less attention has been given 77+23+z country economic level and FCV status to the resilience pillar and addressing the global a. Economic level challenges on fragility, conflict, and displacement; climate change; food security; and access to digital technology. There is a need to redouble attention 23% toward tackling gender gaps in these areas. (15) ●  Non-FCV ●  FCV Knowledge and learning products 77% developed (49) The survey found that RSR-ADSP Gender Window recipient task teams have developed a total of 64+17+19z 131 knowledge and learning products (figure 3.4), b. FCV status many of which have been centered on Africa (figure  3.5). The majority are diagnostic/assess- 19% ment reports, followed by (in descending order) (12) operational guidance/tools, technical notes, policy/strategy papers, impact evaluation reports, ●  IDA data sets, and an e-learning course/module. Anal- 17% 64% ●  IBRD (11) (41) ysis determined that 82 percent of the knowledge ●  Blend and learning products were produced and targeted at the country level, 11 percent at the regional level, Source: Original calculations based on RSR Gender 1  These grants were delivered in FCV countries but did not Window administrative data. delve deeper into the specific challenges of fragility, con- Note: Numbers of grants are in parentheses. flict, and displacement. 10  ●  RSR-ADSP Gender Window Review Report October 2024 Figure 3.3  Thematic areas addressed by RSR-ADSP Gender Window activities Economic empowerment 34 Social norms 19 Care economy 17 Gender-based violence 15 Human endowments and human capital 13 FCV, displacement/refugees 10 Access to technology 7 Leadership and decision-making 6 Climate change and climate action 3 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Number of grants Source: Original calculations based on data from online survey. Figure 3.4  Distribution of knowledge making. However, there remains a need to lever- and learning products developed age the work done at the country level to promote (number) cross-regional learning and knowledge integration, ensuring that valuable insights and best practices 1 are shared more broadly to enhance the overall 4 9 ●  Diag./assessment impact of RSR-ADSP Gender Window initiatives. 12 ●  Op. guidance/tool ●  Technical note Dissemination and utilization of 14 56 ●  Policy/strat. paper knowledge products ●  Impact eval. report ●  Data Of the 131 knowledge and learning products 27 ●  E-learning course developed so far, 89 (67  percent) have been disseminated at least once. The remaining 43 knowledge and learning products (33 percent) have Source: Original calculations based on data from not yet been disseminated since many of them are online survey. still in draft format (figure  3.6a). Future dissemina- tion activities have been planned for these products. Of the knowledge and learning products that have and only 7 percent at the global level. The dominant been disseminated, a majority (68  percent) were focus of knowledge generation at the country level targeted predominantly at an external audience, has largely been in response to donor requests mostly client governments and partners, whereas to focus operational engagement at the country 32  percent targeted an internal audience or World level, thereby fostering effective implementation Bank staff (figure  3.6b). The main dissemination and evidence-based dialogue as well as policy channels utilized by task teams included client/ 3:  Main Findings  ●  11 Figure 3.5  Knowledge and learning products by region (number) Diag./assessment Op. guidance/tool Technical note Policy/strat. paper Global Middle East & North Africa Impact eval. report South Asia Latin America & Carribean Data East Asia & Pacific Africa E-learning course 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Source: Original calculations based on data from online survey. Figure 3.6  Dissemination status of knowledge products and target audience a. Dissemination status b. Target audience 33% ●  External ●  Disseminated   at least once 32% 68% ●  World Bank 67% ●  Not disseminated   internal Source: Original calculations based on data from online survey. Note: WB = World Bank. External dissemination is mostly to client country. partner meetings, workshops/conferences, publi- girls, it is crucial to generate more knowledge and cations (both internal and external), and webinars/ ensure its utilization not only within the World Bank seminars/brown bag lunches. but also beyond. Similarly, it is important to leverage existing partnerships and collaborative efforts glob- Given the need to build and share evidence on what ally, regionally, and within client countries to drive works in addressing gender inequalities and pro- knowledge dissemination and effective uptake. moting socioeconomic outcomes for women and 12  ●  RSR-ADSP Gender Window Review Report October 2024 Influence of RSR-ADSP 63 World Bank IDA and IBRD operations, amount- Gender Window activities in ing to $9.6 billion in total financing. These IDA and the social protection sector IBRD operations have reached over 108.6  million in client countries individuals, 56.6  million of whom are women and girls (figure 3.7). Furthermore, of the total amount of funding disbursed through the RSR-ADSP Gender This section details the influence of RSR-ADSP Window, approximately $5.2  million has been Gender Window–funded activities in client coun- directed at FCV countries via 18 small grants. Alto- tries. Specifically, it highlights the instrumental gether, the RSR-ADSP Gender Window grants have role the Gender Window grants play in leverag- contributed to addressing and operationalizing ing World Bank investments (IDA/IBRD), explains various gender-themed issues including women’s how these activities have influenced policy action economic empowerment, social norms, human and operational engagement, and their impact capital, the care economy, GBV, voice and agency, on gender-related development outcomes in the climate action, migration, and displacement. social protection sector in client countries. Influence on World Bank investments Influence on policy action in client (IDA/IBRD) countries RSR-ADSP Gender Window interventions have Between grant Rounds 16 and 20, the RSR-ADSP served as crucial entry points for policy dialogue Gender Window has provided catalytic seed and engagement on gender equality issues in funding totaling $16.1 million to support the devel- client countries. Through research evidence and opment of gender-responsive social protection technical assistance funded by the RSR-ADSP programs in nearly 40 low- and lower-middle-in- Gender Window, World Bank task teams have come countries across the globe. These small been able to engage in meaningful policy discus- grants have in turn influenced or been operationally sions and reforms to enhance gender equality linked to the design and implementation of larger outcomes (box  3.1). For example, in Tonga, the World Bank operations in these countries. To date, technical assistance provided through the Gender the RSR-ADSP Gender Window has influenced over Figure 3.7  Influence of RSR gender grants on World Bank investments, Rounds 16–20 $16.1 $5.2 $9.6 108.6 56.6 million million billion million million Direct financial To FCV countries World Bank financing Individuals …of whom are support through via 18 grants (IDA/IBRD) reached in over 50 women and girls 64 grants influenced/leveraged countries globally Source: World Bank operational data. 3:  Main Findings  ●  13 I Box 3.1  Operationalizing the Child Daycare Act in Bangladesh n Bangladesh, access to quality and affordable provision. Although the Ministry of Women and public or private child daycare services rep- Children Affairs was tasked with the responsibil- resents a significant barrier to women’s labor ity of operationalizing the new legislation, it did force participation. Prevailing social norms not have sufficient evidence around the implica- place childcare responsibilities disproportionately tions of this law for affordable care, especially for on women. For instance, in low-income areas and low-income mothers. slums in Dhaka, women’s time spent on domes- tic work and childcare activities is eight times A grant from the RSR-ADSP Gender Window greater than that of men—0.34 hours a day for enabled the project task team to (1) conduct men versus 5.16 hours a day for women. Further, a needs assessment of low-income mothers while 63 percent of men rely on their spouses and childcare providers in urban Bangladesh, for childcare, only about 13 percent of working (2) undertake a global review of policy lessons for women can do so. While financial and cultural delivering quality and affordable childcare, and barriers have a significant effect on the provision (3) develop a technical note to guide the integra- of daycare services, the absence of a legal and tion of childcare in Bangladesh’s social safety net regulatory framework for licensing, regulating, programs. Altogether, the evidence generated and effectively enforcing childcare service stan- served as the main entry point for the World Bank dards—as well as the lack of incentives for the to engage in policy dialogue with the ministry on establishment and use of these facilities—further issues related to operationalization of the Child complicate the situation. Daycare Act, and for financial and technical assis- tance on its future programs. Notably, evidence To address the legal and institutional barriers from the grant influenced the design of the rules hindering the provision and use of child daycare and regulations governing implementation of the services, the government of Bangladesh in 2021 act, making it more responsive to the needs of passed the country’s first Child Daycare Act to low-income women in Bangladesh. regulate the quality and structure of child daycare Window grant was instrumental in developing initiating new streams of technical assistance to a gender-responsive National Social Protection tackle key program challenges as needed. Policy, promoting equality and inclusivity in social protection reforms. In Tanzania, evidence from In Grenada, evidence from an actuarial assessment a baseline report on the Productive Social Safety funded through an RSR-ADSP Gender Window Net project funded through the RSR-ADSP Gender grant facilitated policy dialogue with the country Window enabled the project task team to better government regarding reforms for a funded unem- understand and address key constraints affecting ployment insurance program. This reform was women within national social assistance programs approved by the government and included in a such as intimate partner violence and the heavy development policy credit. The approval is signifi- burden of domestic work. It also allowed for deeper cant, as it makes Grenada the third country in the engagement with the government of Tanzania by Caribbean region to implement unemployment insurance—thus better preparing it to respond to 14  ●  RSR-ADSP Gender Window Review Report October 2024 systemic shocks causing large employment losses, and early childhood development (ECD) services. in addition to providing protection against idiosyn- This dialogue has included discussions on how cratic shocks faced by workers. Additionally, a report these services can also promote women’s labor on employment services funded by the RSR-ADSP force participation, thereby addressing broader Gender Window is being used to establish employ- gender equality and economic empowerment ment services in Grenada. goals (box 3.2). In Ecuador, the outcome of a gender assessment Evidence from RSR-ADSP Gender Window inter- spurred dialogue with the Ministry of Economic and ventions has influenced the development of Social Inclusion on the need to develop a Gender gender-responsive policies, strategies, and regu- Action Plan for the Social Safety Net Project and latory frameworks in client countries (box 3.3). For opportunities to enhance the inclusion of poor and instance, in Samoa, the RSR-ADSP Gender Window vulnerable young women in the labor market. Sim- grant provided technical support for the devel- ilarly, in Peru, the RSR-ADSP Gender Window grant opment of a gender-responsive National Social has supported dialogue with government counter- Protection Policy Framework, which was approved parts on improving the delivery of social protection by the government in April 2023. Additionally, Box 3.2  Promoting women’s labor and productive inclusion in the aftermath I of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ecuador and Peru n Ecuador and Peru, the COVID-19 pandemic impact evaluation of a pilot intervention aimed at disproportionately affected women, increas- assisting young women entrepreneurs exiting the ing unemployment, informality, and inactivity. Crédito de Desarrollo Humano (Human Develop- General lockdowns and school closures shifted ment Loan) cash transfer program. The findings paid care work to unpaid care work, significantly from these studies provided crucial evidence burdening women who were already responsi- that influenced policy discussions around labor ble for over 70 percent of unpaid care work prior market barriers for women, emphasizing the need to the pandemic. Childcare and ECD support for potential adjustments to the cash transfer services—essential components of the social pro- program to better address the needs of women tection system in both countries—were severely and enhance their labor market participation. affected, with many programs deescalated or shifted to virtual modalities. The economic In Peru, the Gender Window grant facilitated a downturn for women highlighted the need in diagnostic study to explore factors influencing the both countries to reassess how social protection demand for childcare services and the potential programs could support economic reactivation impact of such services on women’s labor market and improve women’s access to employment outcomes. The findings from this study informed during the COVID-19 recovery. Funding from the policy dialogue between the World Bank task RSR-ADSP Gender Window supported research team and Peru’s Ministry of Economic and and technical assistance in both countries. Social Inclusion on the importance of expand- ing childcare services not only to enhance child In Ecuador, the grant funded an assessment of development objectives but also to promote labor market barriers for women beneficiaries of women’s labor market participation. the cash transfer program. It also supported an 3:  Main Findings  ●  15 discussions stemming from social protection Box 3.3  Strengthening women’s system assessment informed the revision of the economic opportunities and National Provident Funds Act, which resulted in resilience in the Caribbean merging of two databases—for senior citizens D benefits and disability benefits—into a single man- espite recent progress in closing agement information system. This integration is gender gaps in human capital out- expected to streamline and improve analysis of comes such as education, significant data on identifying registration and coverage gaps gender differences in labor market outcomes in various social protection programs—and conse- continue to persist in St. Lucia, Grenada, quently inform policy actions to address these gaps and Dominica. Generally, female labor force such as increasing the registration of vulnerable participation in these countries is relatively groups, including women, making them easier to lower, with negative implications for the reach in times of need. economy. Also, compared to men, women tend to have higher unemployment rates, Similarly, in Fiji, the RSR-ADSP Gender Window lower wages and higher employment insecu- grant provided analytical and technical inputs to rity due to gendered work norms. Although support the government’s efforts in developing a these labor market outcome disparities gender-responsive adaptive social protection strat- existed prior to the onset of the COVID-19 egy and an interoperability framework, including pandemic, the crisis further exacerbated key elements such as promoting gender inclusivity these challenges, undermining resilience and the capacity to respond to other shocks such in decision-making and implementing measures as natural disasters. to reduce the risk of GBV in social protection pro- grams. In South Sudan, the Ministry of Gender, To address these issues, funding from the Child, and Social Welfare is working to establish a RSR-ADSP Gender Window supported national GBV helpline based partly on the findings research and country-level assessments on and recommendations from the RSR-funded deliv- the barriers to women’s economic inclusion erable, which outlined the helpline’s framework. and the gender-differentiated impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in all three countries. The evidence from these assessments influ- Influence on operational engagement enced policy change at the national level. and enhancement For example, in St. Lucia, evidence from the RSR-ADSP Gender Window interventions have assessment informed the development of supported gender-responsive operational design a national social protection strategy and and implementation in new and ongoing World an economic inclusion strategy; these have Bank–funded operations (box 3.4). For example, both been approved and adopted by the cabinet as key policy documents for address- in Haiti the Gender Window grant informed the ing gendered barriers to women’s economic design of the Klere Chimen cash transfer program inclusion. In Grenada, evidence from the as part of the shock-responsive safety net project. assessment informed critical policy reforms Evidence from a baseline impact evaluation such as the design of a funded unemploy- on demand-side constraints to digital financial ment benefit program to provide income inclusion led to efforts to increase beneficiaries’ support to women and other vulnerable knowledge and awareness about financial inclu- groups that tend to be more likely to experi- sion. This resulted in a significant increase in the ence job losses from vulnerable employment. share of women cash transfer recipients using 16  ●  RSR-ADSP Gender Window Review Report October 2024 Box 3.4  Informing the design of gender-smart social protection programs in I the Republic of Congo n the Republic of Congo, multiple intersecting activities. However, significant knowledge gaps vulnerabilities—including poverty, ethnicity, existed regarding how to tailor the productive social norms, and geographic location— inclusion activities, particularly to the needs of adversely affect the well-being of girls and younger women, and strategies to address GBV women. These factors contribute to significant both within the household and in the community. gender gaps, particularly in the labor market. Women face difficulties entering the labor market A grant from the RSR-ADSP Gender Window and securing productive jobs, being less likely enabled the project team to conduct a qual- to be employed in the higher-earning formal itative assessment of the constraints to sector, especially within the private sector. Social productive economic inclusion of young female norms further limit women’s access to productive income-generating activity beneficiaries and a resources like land and credit. Limited educa- survey on addressing GBV. The evidence gathered tional opportunities and the burden of large from these activities further enhanced the deliv- households further impede women’s participation ery of the Lisungi Safety Nets System, making it in the formal labor market, leading to their eco- more gender responsive. The insights gained also nomic exclusion. These labor market disparities informed the design of the income-generating are closely linked to high levels of sexual and activity component in the follow-up Social gender-based violence against women and girls. Protection and Youth Productive Inclusion project (P174178) to better accommodate the needs and In 2014, the World Bank approved the Lisungi preferences of younger women. This involved Safety Nets System Project (P145263), an complementing cash transfers with support IDA-financed operation designed to provide measures such as training in business plan prepa- health- and education-linked cash transfers to ration and other technical skills, communication extremely poor households that include preg- and mentorship, and financial literacy training nant women and/or children ages 0–14 years. As to improve their income management and to of 2019, the project had demonstrated positive encourage them to save against weather shocks. impacts on its beneficiaries and, with additional The design also incorporated behavioral change financing, started implementing a produc- communication and community sensitization ini- tive inclusion component providing grants to tiatives to reduce GBV in project areas. poor households to pursue income-generating e-wallets or participating in village savings and In Guinea, technical assistance provided through loan associations. The grant also facilitated engage- the RSR-ADSP Gender Window grant supported the ment with policy makers to provide national IDs to design and implementation of productive inclu- beneficiaries lacking this requirement for opening sion activities targeting women under the NAFA e-wallets and with regulators to create a risk-based Program (P168777), the country’s core safety net. know-your-customer (KYC) approach for low-tier Specifically, it helped identify obstacles to women’s e-wallets. productive inclusion to inform these activities. Research and technical assistance under the grant 3:  Main Findings  ●  17 also contributed to the design of a gender-smart interventions to keep adolescent girls in school. digital payments system and an intra-household The pilot tested a comprehensive package aimed targeting criterion for cash transfers in polygamous at increasing the retention of adolescent girls in households in the project area. school by addressing financial constraints and pro- moting better hygiene practices. The evaluation of In Burundi, technical assistance from the Gender the pilot intervention contributed to the operation- Window grant played a crucial role in the design alization of social protection measures that alleviate and implementation of the economic inclusion financial barriers, ensuring more girls could stay component of the Cash for Jobs Project (P175327) in school. The pilot also raised awareness about and operationalization of the country’s unified gender norms and sexual and reproductive health social registry. This assistance aimed to enhance rights through sessions with both boys and girls at the effectiveness and reach of social protection school, as well as with parents and wider commu- programs, ensuring they better serve vulnerable nity stakeholders. This holistic approach aimed to populations, particularly women. improve school retention rates for girls as well as to foster a more supportive and informed community In Colombia, the Gender Window grant facilitated environment regarding gender equality and health the design of a public policy for poverty reduction rights. with a clear mandate to reduce women’s poverty and address gender-based economic inequali- In Mali, the RSR-ADSP Gender Window grant sig- ties. This policy led to the creation of a guaranteed nificantly influenced program implementation and minimum income program, with women as one targeting. The grant was used as a proof of concept, of its main target populations. The technical assis- demonstrating that targeting women with cash tance on employment support services provided transfers did not have the negative impacts the under the grant enabled the Bogota district to project implementation unit had initially expected. adjust its economic inclusion programs to better This evidence supported a shift in the approach address the needs of the poorest caregiver women. to providing cash transfers; as a result, targeting This transformation has been crucial in prioritizing women with transfers will be the default option for the employment of poor women under the new projects under discussion. local government. In Fiji, the RSR-ADSP Gender Window grant has contributed to the design of an In Belize, a policy note on the Women’s Entre- impact evaluation for a gender-focused cash-for preneurship Program Pilot financed under the work initiative for natured-based solutions (Jobs RSR-ADSP Gender Window grant contributed to for Nature 2.0 public works program). The findings operationalizing an economic inclusion agenda from the impact evaluation are expected to influ- through implementation of a novel entrepre- ence future programing, enabling the inclusion of neurship program targeting poor and vulnerable gender targets in a public works program. women. The proposed pilot design builds on the Building Opportunities for Our Social Transforma- RSR-ADSP Gender Window interventions have tion (BOOST) program and its wraparound services, supported the piloting of new and innovative including productive inclusion activities for BOOST approaches aimed at addressing gender inequal- beneficiaries (primarily women) and existing smaller ity (box 3.5). For instance, in Zimbabwe, the Gender entrepreneurship programs for beneficiaries. Window grant provided technical assistance for designing a pilot project combining social pro- Evidence from the RSR-ADSP Gender Window has tection and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) influenced program scale-up and strengthened 18  ●  RSR-ADSP Gender Window Review Report October 2024 Box 3.5  Piloting a community-led outreach model for women and vulnerable T populations in Indonesia he COVID-19 pandemic significantly enrollment and address existing gender bar- reversed Indonesia’s recent progress in riers such as mobility, geography, time, and reducing poverty. By August 2020, the knowledge regarding access to various social economy had contracted by 4.5 percent, assistance programs, including the COVID-19 leading to the loss of up to 3.6 million jobs and response. The model, initiated by PEKKA, a pushing 5.5 to 8.0 million Indonesians into poverty national-scale nongovernmental organization by the end of the year. Female-headed house- that empowers female-headed households, holds were particularly affected, as women are has been implemented in over 600 villages by predominantly employed in the informal sector PEKKA in collaboration with community orga- and own ultra-micro, micro, and small enterprises, nizations, local governments, and other donors. which were severely affected by the pandemic. Through this grant, advocacy efforts have been initiated for the adaptation and replication of the To mitigate these social and economic impacts, KLIK PEKKA model within national government the Indonesian government announced a sub- systems through the Family Welfare Develop- stantial Rp 695 trillion ($47.95 billion) COVID-19 ment network, or Pemberdayaan Kesejahteraan stimulus package in June 2020. This package Keluarga (PKK), a community organization present aimed to enhance and expand existing social in all villages that empowers women to partici- assistance programs and introduce new measures pate in government programs. to support economic recovery—particularly target- ing informal workers and micro and small traders, Institutionalizing key outreach methods through a large proportion of whom are women. To ensure the PKK has enabled the project team to reach that women and other vulnerable groups were not potential beneficiaries on a scale not possible left behind in accessing the COVID response and through the NGO-led model alone. As a result recovery programs, the government relied on vil- of this pilot, many women from low-income lages and communities to play a role in improving households were able to access legal identity outreach and enrollment of poor and vulnerable documents (e.g., birth certificates, KTP personal women in these government programs. identity cards, family cards), government-funded social protection programs, and consultation on A grant from the RSR-ADSP Gender Window legal issues (marriage, divorce, domestic violence). supported the adaptation and piloting of the This initiative has helped overcome signifi- KLIK PEKKA model in 100 villages in Indonesia. cant barriers to access and has provided critical The model emphasizes the role of female cadres support to women, enhancing their social and and targeted outreach to women to increase economic resilience. sustainability by consolidating results and outputs Republic of Congo Eastern Recovery Project from ongoing and past initiatives (box 3.6). In the (P145196). This led to the scale-up of the public Democratic Republic of Congo, the results of an works program to three additional provinces and impact evaluation funded through the RSR-ADSP non-emergency settings, reaching over 175,000 Gender Window helped inform additional financ- beneficiaries, 53 percent of whom are women. ing of close to $700  million for the Democratic The evaluation also contributed to designing and 3:  Main Findings  ●  19 Box 3.6  Building an adaptive and gender-responsive social protection B system in Bhutan hutan faces significant challenges due skill enhancement and employability. Addi- to its small, landlocked status and high tionally, start-up and self-employment support vulnerability to economic and natural programs did not always provide adequate shocks, as part of the seismically active gender-specific support, despite a high preva- Himalaya Arc. Many families depend on subsis- lence of self-employment among women. tence agriculture, which often involves informal work. This dependence is particularly concern- To address these challenges, a grant from the ing as much of Bhutan’s fertile land and over RSR-ADSP Gender Window financed techni- 70 percent of settlements are in flood-prone cal assistance to help strengthen the gender areas along main drainage basins. Women, impact of programs supported by the Human who are often more dependent on subsistence Capital Recovery and Resilience Project (P174399), agriculture, face heightened risks and reduced building on assessments and capacity building incentives for investing in their human capital. provided under previous RSR-financed activities According to the 2019 Bhutan Labor Force Survey, in Bhutan including Encouraging Private Sector female labor force participation in the country is Youth Employment (P165569) and improving comparatively low, and the labor market is char- inclusion and employment impacts of entrepre- acterized by gender occupational segregation neurship support programs (P168206). Building and a substantial gender wage gap, particularly on these past activities, the current grant has outside the public sector. supported (1) strengthening the management information system and operational processes The COVID-19 pandemic further exposed vul- for employment delivery systems; and (2) devel- nerabilities, disproportionately affecting women oping gender-inclusive program design features who are often overrepresented in informal and within Bhutan’s active labor market programs. The precarious employment sectors. Labor market Gender Window grant also supported the devel- interventions implemented by the government, opment of a national gender strategy, whose aims such as training programs, apprenticeships, and include promoting the inclusion of women in pro- labor intermediation, lacked gender-specific ductive employment activities, especially in the features, limiting women’s opportunities for technical and vocational education sector. piloting improvements in the public works delivery understanding of GBV issues among learners (boys model, including the provision of childcare support and girls), school administrators, parent-teacher (crèches) to lift barriers for women participating in committees, and the broader community to foster economic activities. gender-transformative dialogue. A case manage- ment system seeks to identify girls at high risk of In Zambia, evidence from an RSR-funded inter- dropping out, retain them in school, and reinte- vention informed the decision to scale up grate those who have dropped out because of the Empowerment Pilot and Case Manage- factors such as early marriage and teen pregnancy. ment System under a pipeline project (Girls’ Education and Women’s Empowerment and Live- In Liberia, evidence generated from a Gender lihood 2; P181391). The pilot aimed to strengthen Window–funded intervention influenced the 20  ●  RSR-ADSP Gender Window Review Report October 2024 design of a subcomponent in a follow-up IDA oper- referral services, enhanced access to technology, ation—Recovery of Economic Activity for Liberian and increased the availability of sex-disaggregated Informal Sector Employment Project (P179035)— data for evidence-based policy making and pro- to empower women to establish new businesses gramming (figure 3.8). in traditionally male-dominated sectors such as plumbing, electrical repairs, construction, and Improved economic opportunities selling scratch-off cards. RSR-ADSP Gender Window interventions have bolstered larger World Bank–financed opera- Influence of RSR-ADSP tions driving access to livelihood support and Gender Window on key economic opportunities for women, girls, and development outcomes their communities. For instance, in Burundi, the RSR-ADSP Gender Window grant (discussed on As the preceding subsections illustrate, nearly all p. 17) provided technical assistance for the RSR-ADSP Gender Window activities have been operationalization of a unified social registry and associated with larger IDA and IBRD operations for design and implementation of an economic in client countries. These larger operations have inclusion package under the IDA-financed Cash significantly influenced key development out- for Jobs Project (P175327). Through this operation, comes for women and girls. Taken together, these the government of Burundi has successfully scaled operations have increased access to economic up the delivery of cash transfers to 77,590 indi- opportunities, facilitated human capital accu- viduals—97 percent of whom are women—in the mulation through education, health and skills four poorest provinces in the country. To boost the training, improved access to GBV prevention and income-generation capacity of beneficiaries, the Figure 3.8  Selected gender equality outcome indicators 27.6 8.9 million women million women have benefited from economic opportunities have benefited from improved access to including conditional transfers, productive inclusion, digital payment systems and livelihood support Improved economic opportunities Access to technology 5.5 million 71 women and girls countries have accessed education services and have sex-disaggregated indicators for surveys that skills training have at least one social protection program captured at the individual level Access to education & skills training Sex-disaggregated indicators Source: Original calculations based on World Bank operational data. 3:  Main Findings  ●  21 project provides complementary productive inclu- Window informed component implementation. sion measures and access to job services. These This component aimed to expand access to eco- include coaching, life skills training, facilitation of nomic opportunities and financial inclusion for savings groups using the village savings and loan refugees and host communities in 18 communi- association model, microentrepreneurship training, ties across 5 selected regions. By project closure, provision of start-up capital, business manage- it had successfully supported 77,847 beneficiary ment support, facilitation of access to inputs and refugees, internally displaced persons, and host markets, and support for informal apprenticeship community members—including 31,074 women— training for motivated young entrepreneurs. This with the restoration of livelihoods through mobile comprehensive approach aims to enhance eco- cash transfers, preceded by a training package in nomic opportunities and improve the livelihoods microentrepreneurship, financial skills, and life of the targeted population, particularly women. skills. These strengthened beneficiaries’ capacity to develop effective income-generating activities, Under the Tanzania Gender Window grant (dis- including upgrading local businesses, processing cussed on p. 13), the task team was able to provide raw materials into higher-value goods, and engag- critical implementation support through techni- ing in other activities aimed at improving economic cal assistance to the Productive Social Safety Net opportunities. The focus was on supporting reliance, Project II (P179701). The safety net project aimed to diversifying livelihoods, using improved inputs, and provide an integrated package of both foundational enhancing resilience to shocks through capital and and livelihood support to beneficiary households. savings accumulation, skills development, and The foundational support provides cash transfers improved access to economic opportunities. For to beneficiary households and public works to eli- example, women in Diffa city processed raw corn gible households with working-age members. To into corn flour, which enabled them to sell the enhance the project’s productive impacts, basic product at a much higher price. livelihood support services—including financial lit- eracy training, and promotion of community savings The Democratic Republic of Congo Gender and investment groups—are provided to all bene- Window grant (discussed on p. 18) also contrib- ficiaries. An enhanced livelihood support package uted to design improvements and the scale-up of is offered to households with labor capacity; this the Eastern Recovery Project (P145196). A major goal includes assistance with business plan preparation of the project was to enhance livelihood opportu- and a one-off productive grant for setting up small nities and generate employment for individuals in businesses. To date, nearly 5.2 million beneficiaries vulnerable communities through shock-responsive have directly accessed income-earning opportu- social safety net options, including labor-intensive nities and socioeconomic services under different public works in urban centers and unconditional components of the project, with 56 percent of these productive cash transfers in rural areas. As part individuals being women. This comprehensive of the project, 175,774 individuals benefited from approach has improved the economic resilience employment opportunities under the public works of beneficiary households, particularly focusing on program. Additionally, 512,654 individuals accessed women’s participation and empowerment. productive cash transfers and economic inclusion opportunities, enabling them to meet household In Niger, under the Niger Refugees and Host needs and engage in income-generating activities. Communities Support Project (P164563), evi- Approximately 53  percent of these beneficiaries dence from a diagnostic on a gender-smart digital are women, highlighting the project’s focus on payment system funded by the RSR-ADSP Gender 22  ●  RSR-ADSP Gender Window Review Report October 2024 improving the economic status and resilience of financial services and opportunities for economic women in the country. inclusion. In Nigeria, funding from the RSR-ADSP Gender Human capital accumulation Window significantly enhanced the economic impact of the IDA-financed National Social Safety RSR-ADSP Gender Window interventions have Net Project (P151488) by making it more respon- contributed to strengthening human capital out- sive to the needs of women and other vulnerable comes for women and girls through foundational groups. This was achieved through the develop- investments in maternal and child health, educa- ment of a gender-smart digital payment system for tion, nutrition, and food security. In Zambia, the the cash transfers provided by the project. At the challenge of enrollment and retention in second- end of the current phase, the National Social Safety ary school (grades 8–12) is pronounced, particularly Net Project had successfully provided targeted cash among girls from poorer districts. Only a quarter of transfers to 2  million poor and vulnerable house- girls from these districts enroll in secondary school, holds, benefiting nearly 10  million individuals, compared to one-third of boys. Additionally, dropout approximately 51  percent of whom were women. rates among secondary school girls are almost twice The gender-smart digital payment system ensured those of boys in these areas. To address these issues, that poor women and their households had regular the IDA-financed Girls’ Education and Women’s and rapid access to transfers, even in hard-to-reach Empowerment and Livelihood Project (P151451), areas. This system played a crucial role in enhancing linked to an RSR-ADSP Gender Window grant, seeks financial inclusion and economic resilience among to increase school enrollment for adolescent girls women and other vulnerable groups. from poor households through its Keeping Girls in School (KGS) component. As of December 2023, In Afghanistan, findings from an impact evaluation approximately 148,161 female students across 65 dis- funded by the RSR-ADSP Gender Window grant tricts in all 10 provinces were enrolled in secondary influenced the design of the larger IDA-financed school and are receiving regular support for school Women’s Economic Empowerment Rural fees and other payments. This focus on education Development Project (P164443), implemented directly contributes to the development of human from 2018 to 2021. The project aimed to enhance capital by equipping girls with the skills and knowl- access to finance by empowering community insti- edge necessary to participate effectively in the tutions such as savings groups and village savings economy and society. and loan associations, enabling them to develop as sustainable financial institutions at the community In the Republic of Congo, technical assistance from level. These groups were eventually linked directly the RSR-ADSP Gender Window helped improve with financial service providers, including micro- program delivery under the LISUNGI Safety Nets finance institutions and commercial banks. The System Project (P145263). The project aimed to project also supported enterprise development improve early investments in human capital for and market linkages by financing goods based children by incentivizing mothers through a con- on the business needs of female-led enterprises. ditional cash transfer (CCT) to utilize maternal This approach aimed to support viable economic healthcare services and enroll their children in activities, leverage private sector investments, and school. As of end 2023, about 64 percent of infants promote economies of scale. By the project’s close, born to beneficiary mothers and between 0 and it had directly benefited 772,792 people, including 11 months old regularly attended monthly health 455,756 women, by providing access to sustainable center visits; and 80  percent of infants between 3:  Main Findings  ●  23 12 and 23 months old attended regular bimonthly full potential, improve their life skills, and contribute checkups at health centers in the participating significantly to human capital accumulation. areas. Findings from a 2022 conditionality monitor- ing survey revealed that 97  percent of beneficiary In Peru, the Investing in Human Capital Devel- children 6–14 years old regularly attended primary opment Policy Financing II project, linked to an school, maintaining a monthly attendance rate of at RSR-ADSP Gender Window grant, focused on least 80 percent each month. enhancing human capital accumulation by improv- ing the delivery of social protection and ECD In Pakistan, an RSR-ADSP Gender Window–associ- services. Through this instrument, nearly 41 percent ated project, the Crisis-Resilient Social Protection of children under the age of 1 year in select areas Program-for-Results Project, aims to promote received prioritized ECD services when age appro- early investments in human capital for children. priate. Additionally, 78.8 percent of children under The project supports demand-side interven- age 1 who entered the JUNTOS conditional cash tions, including a nutrition-focused CCT aimed at transfer program during the pandemic response incentivizing the uptake of health and nutrition ser- expansion received a basic package of health ser- vices by mothers and children provided through vices, and 79.1 percent of children under age 1 who the public health system. The project includes an entered the Cuna Más program during the same education-linked CCT that provides incentives period received family support services. By empha- for girls to address the gender gap in progress- sizing reforms to improve the quality of ECD and ing to secondary education and to encourage the basic education through better delivery systems, completion of primary education. To date, about Peru aims to increase human capital levels in the 445,781 beneficiaries have received cash transfer long term and build resilience to shocks that affect payments against compliance with conditionali- human capital accumulation. ties in the nutrition-sensitive program. Also, about 249,034 girls have received bonuses or completion Access to GBV prevention and referral incentives for transition to secondary school under services the education-linked CCT, thus encouraging them to stay in school and fostering long-term human RSR-ADSP Gender Window interventions have capital development. contributed to raising awareness of and increas- ing access to GBV prevention and referral services. In Zimbabwe, the WASH project (discussed on For example, in Cameroon, the RSR-ADSP Gender p. 17), Piloting Social Protection and WASH Window grant supported the development of new Interventions to Keep Adolescent Girls in School interventions aimed at preventing GBV. These inter- (P177168), designed and implemented a pilot ventions have been integrated into Cameroon’s program to increase the retention of adolescent girls Social Safety Net Project (P128534) and specifically in school. The intervention included the provision address intimate partner violence among house- of cash transfers and menstrual hygiene products holds receiving cash transfers. Implemented in to adolescent girls, aimed at minimizing barriers to over 140 communities across three regions, these regular school attendance and discouraging neg- measures leverage the economic improvements ative coping strategies affecting their education. from the cash transfers to reduce violence and The project supported 1,007 girls and their house- address potential backlash from men regarding holds, successfully incentivizing over 97.5 percent of intrahousehold financial management. The inter- beneficiary adolescent girls to enroll and remain in ventions utilize different communication methods school. This initiative enabled the girls to reach their to encourage collaborative budgeting and healthy 24  ●  RSR-ADSP Gender Window Review Report October 2024 communication within households. By promoting KGS target districts, incorporating GBV-responsive these practices, the project aims to reduce GBV measures and fast-tracking GBV complaints. It also and foster a more equitable distribution of financial involves updating the GBV referral pathway at the resources, ensuring that economic benefits do not district level—starting with existing KGS districts—in inadvertently exacerbate gender-based disparities collaboration with the United Nations, and final- and conflicts. izing enhanced monitoring and evaluation tools. The plan includes initiating the procurement of an In South Sudan, a Gender Window grant supported external firm to conduct spot checks in KGS dis- the South Sudan Safety Net Project (P169274) tricts, focusing on the safety of schools and the in introducing measures to prevent, mitigate, presence of a grievance redress mechanism, as and respond to GBV. With the grant’s support, well as designing a case management system to the project adapted its grievance mechanism to support girls at risk of dropping out or those who effectively record and respond to GBV cases in have already dropped out. Sessions on GBV have a survivor-centric manner, focusing on empow- been included in the Ministry of Education teacher ering survivors by prioritizing their rights, needs, training manual. The plan also includes sensitization and wishes. Additionally, a Gender Action Plan of students, teachers, and community members on was developed to identify GBV risks and propose GBV and sexual and reproductive health issues to mitigation measures throughout project imple- enhance knowledge and awareness among these mentation. In response to the action plan, several groups. A total of 2,926 girls in three districts have activities were conducted, including sensitizing thus far benefited from an empowerment pilot beneficiaries on how to report GBV incidents, and aimed at addressing school-related GBV and the on access to available services and referral path- case management system under the project. An ways. These activities were carried out in all project impact evaluation of the pilot is ongoing and is due locations, particularly before payments, to mitigate to be completed by the end of 2024. GBV risks. The project also partnered with a local NGO to establish a toll-free GBV helpline and con- At the global level, the RSR-ADSP Gender Window ducted awareness campaigns in all project locations has funded the development of an operational to promote the helpline number. GBV information, guidance/toolkit, “Safety First: How to Leverage education, and communication materials such as Safety Nets to Prevent Gender-Based Violence.” This leaflets, posters, and banners were displayed at toolkit highlights how safety nets can reduce GBV payment points, labor-intensive public works sites, by alleviating poverty and empowering women. It and during cash plus sessions to raise awareness. offers design and implementation strategies for social protection programs, drawn from country In Zambia, under the above-mentioned (p. 22) case studies, to enhance women’s empowerment Girls’ Education and Women’s Empowerment and and prevent violence at every stage. The toolkit Livelihood project (P151451), evidence from the outlines how safety nets can indirectly reduce GBV qualitative study funded through the RSR-ADSP in the long term by increasing girls’ educational Gender Window grant has informed the develop- attainment, reducing early marriage and pregnancy, ment of a comprehensive action plan to mitigate and other impacts that decrease exposure to vio- and respond to GBV in project implementation lence. This global knowledge product has proven districts. The action plan includes measures such to be highly valuable and is being utilized by task as developing minimum safety criteria for board- teams to integrate GBV prevention and mitigation ing facilities where KGS girls live and accelerating strategies into social safety net projects around the the rollout of a grievance redress mechanism to all world. 3:  Main Findings  ●  25 Availability of sex-disaggregated data comprehensive approach ensures that data can be segmented and analyzed in a way that The availability of gender-disaggregated data highlights gender-specific outcomes. Also, the remains highly important for tracking progress ADePT software has been updated to automat- and informing policy decisions aimed at promot- ically generate social protection performance ing gender equality. However, in many national indicators using the newly reengineered data surveys, social protection data are collected at files. This automation streamlines the process the household level rather than the individual of extracting meaningful insights from the level, therefore making it very challenging to dis- data, making it easier to assess and compare aggregate the data by sex. With funding from the the effectiveness of social protection programs RSR-ADSP Gender Window, the World Bank’s Atlas across different demographic groups. This of Social Protection Indicators of Resilience and process has been applied to 179 national house- Equity (ASPIRE) team has undertaken a critical ini- hold surveys so far (54  percent of all ASPIRE tiative to enhance the database’s ability to generate surveys), demonstrating the broad application sex-disaggregated indicators for social protection and scalability. Table 3.1 shows the disaggrega- programs. This effort involves the following: tion of the harmonized individual-level data by region, distinguishing between new surveys and ● Reengineering the use of household survey retrofitted existing surveys in ASPIRE. ASPIRE data. The ASPIRE team has reengineered its has begun to generate sex-disaggregated indi- household survey data process and improved cators for surveys that have at least one social its data architecture to automate the genera- protection program captured at the individual tion of sex-disaggregated indicators for those level. Early results of this work will be show- program variables that capture information for cased in the gender spotlight of the upcoming direct beneficiaries. To do this, the team has State of Social Protection Report 2024. generated data files that retain detailed infor- mation for individuals (such as sex, age, and ● Revamping administrative data collec- education level) alongside specific variables tion. The ASPIRE team has also revamped related to social protection programs. This Table 3.1  Number of surveys harmonized with the new data process Number of countries Number of surveys Out of ASPIRE Incidence of Region  inventory new process (%) Total New Retrofitted Africa 23 out of 45 51 33 28 5 East Asia and Pacific 12 out of 21 57 24 14 10 Europe and Central Asia 12 out of 25 48 46 40 6 Latin America & Caribbean 15 out of 22 68 59 25 34 Middle East & North Africa 4 out of 11 36 9 9 0 South Asia 5 out of 8 63 8 4 4 Total 71 out of 132 54 179 120 59 Source: ASPIRE. 26  ●  RSR-ADSP Gender Window Review Report October 2024 its administrative data collection to include Mongolia on generating sex-disaggregated data. gender-relevant variables on social protection These notes are designed to engage government program design features and sex-disaggregated officials in discussing how social protection data can time trends—for beneficiaries as well as be used to inform program design to reduce gender members and contributors in the case of social gaps. This process also aims to create a prototype insurance schemes. To facilitate data collec- that other countries can use for similar analyses in tion, management, and publication, ASPIRE has the future. The ASPIRE team has advised the Living developed a new portal with two modules: one Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) team in pre- for social assistance and labor market programs paring the new version of its questionnaire in terms and one for social insurance schemes. Together, of collecting better social protection data that can these include about 21 gender-relevant vari- be disaggregated by sex. Training on the improved ables. The current ASPIRE administrative methodology has been provided to 14 national sta- database includes 4,821 programs, of which tistical offices in client countries. By implementing 1,974 from 138 countries have data for at least these improvements, ASPIRE ensures that its data one gender-relevant variable. Table 3.2 shows are not only more robust and comprehensive but the distribution by type of variable. also more accessible and useful for policy analysis and decision-making aimed at promoting gender This enhanced infrastructure/tool has already equity in social protection systems. informed country policy notes for Indonesia and Table 3.2  Programs with data on gender variables Countries Programs Program type and variable No. % No. % Social assistance and labor market Tracks gender of beneficiaries 76 52 742 13 Targets women (female head of household, pregnant/new 74 50 349 0.06 mothers, girls/adolescents, etc.) Percentage of female recipients 78 53 414 0.07 Social insurance Retirement age: male/female 118 98 187 85 Vesting requirement: male/female 94 78 132 60 Average age at retirement: male/female 50 41 65 54 Members: male/female 28 23 30 14 Contributors: male/female 23 23 41 19 Beneficiaries: male/female 25 21 28 13 Annual benefit payments: male/female 5 0.04 6 0.03 Source: ASPIRE. 3:  Main Findings  ●  27 4 Synthesis of Key Learnings T his section provides a synthesis of key learnings from the knowledge and learning products developed across four different thematic areas under the RSR-ADSP Gender Window (Rounds 16–20): eco- nomic empowerment; social norms; gender-based violence (GBV); and fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV). Details on these themes are published in separate RSR-ADSP Gender Window learning briefs. Key barriers to advancing gender equality Social and cultural norms reinforce negative stereotypes against women, creating strong barriers to women’s economic empowerment and exacer- bating GBV. Gendered social norms limit women’s ability to take advantage of economic opportunities, constrain their decision-making, and hinder their participation in social and economic life. Often, they dictate what women can and cannot do, prioritizing men over women and confining women to “socially acceptable” sectors with limited growth prospects. For example, in India, societal norms such as the perception that women’s employment affects marriage prospects hinder young women and girls from entering the labor market (Chakravarty 2020). Deep-rooted norms surrounding motherhood also make it challenging for women, especially those of childbearing age, to maintain employment (Chakravarty et al. 2020). Also, social norms can significantly increase the risk of GBV. These norms often perpetuate harmful stereotypes and reinforce unequal power dynamics between men and women, leading to environments where vio- lence against women is tolerated or even justified. In many cultures, norms that prioritize male dominance and female subservience contribute to the normalization of intimate partner violence. Similarly, social stigma attached to reporting GBV can discourage victims from seeking help, further entrenching the cycle of abuse. Unpaid domestic work and care responsibilities impede women’s active participation in economic activities. In many societies, social and cultural 28 4:  Synthesis of Key Learnings  ●  29 norms tend to place the burden of care responsi- 2023). This unequal access to technology presents bilities and domestic work disproportionately on significant barriers for women in accessing digital women. This significantly affects their well-being, financial services. In many Latin America and Carib- exacerbates time poverty, and limits their participa- bean countries, a digital gender gap exists, with tion in economic activities, particularly in the formal women being less likely to own mobile phones labor market. Even when women work, many opt and have access to the Internet compared to men for informal jobs because of the flexibility they offer (Tarín et al. 2022). Consequently, this limits the for managing care duties, although such jobs tend ability of women entrepreneurs to leverage tech- to be less stable and less rewarding (Devercelli and nology in accessing digital financial services and Beaton-Day 2020). This situation lowers women’s growing their businesses (Petrovic 2023). Addition- economic productivity, increases their dependence ally, compared to men, women are generally less on men, and widens the gender inequality gap. For likely to have formal or digital identification docu- instance, in Bhutan, an RSR-ADSP Gender Window– ments, further constraining their access to financial funded labor market assessment shows that the services. In Haiti, an RSR-ADSP Gender Window– female labor force participation rate is negatively funded report on the demand-side constraints to affected by the presence of children in a household. digital financial inclusion for beneficiaries of the Also, compared to men, more young women are Adaptive Social Protection for Increased Resil- likely not to be in school, training, or active employ- ience (ASPIRE) cash transfer program (discussed on ment due to childcare, domestic work, and local p. 15) revealed that over 25 percent of program norms (Alaref et al. 2024). In Belize, a labor market beneficiaries attributed their inability to sign up for survey funded by the RSR-ADSP Gender Window a formal account with a financial service provider to indicates that most women with low educational the lack of a valid identification document. levels cite care and domestic responsibilities as the main reason for not being able to participate in the Low levels of education and skills attainment labor market (Petrovic 2023). affect women’s labor force participation. In many low-income countries and lower-middle-income countries, women are more likely than men to S O C I A L A N D C U LT U R A L have lower levels of formal education—especially at the secondary level and beyond—and skills. This NORMS TEND TO PLACE disparity restricts their access to high-quality jobs THE BURDEN OF CARE in the formal sector and limits their ability to run RESPONSIBILITIES successful businesses in the informal sector. In the formal labor market, jobs often require specific AND DOMESTIC WORK qualifications and skills, which women may lack D I S P R O P O R T I O N AT E LY O N because of educational gaps. In the informal sector, WOMEN. low literacy and skill levels can also limit the type of training, network, and opportunities women entrepreneurs are able to benefit from; they further Limited access to technology and formal iden- hinder their ability to leverage modern technology tification documents hinders women’s financial and digital innovations to grow their businesses. inclusion. In many low- and lower-middle-income countries, women tend to have limited ownership FCV exacerbates gender gaps in human endow- of smartphones and less access to the Internet ments for women and girls and increases the compared to their male counterparts (Jeffrie et al. risk of GBV. Women and girls face unique and 30  ●  RSR-ADSP Gender Window Review Report October 2024 complex challenges in FCV settings, which signifi- in South Sudan, a third of all women report having cantly hinder their access to essential services and experienced some form of sexual violence by a impede human capital accumulation. Ongoing nonpartner in their lifetime (World Bank 2022b). conflicts, violence, and institutional fragility often disrupt state capacity to provide quality health- The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated gender care, education, social protection, and other basic disparities, including an increase in GBV cases. In services. These disruptions increase vulnerabilities many countries, the COVID-19 pandemic exacer- and risks, disproportionately affecting women and bated gender gaps and increased the incidence of girls. For example, in most FCV settings, education GBV. For instance, in Kiribati, pre-pandemic data disruptions pose significant challenges for girls, from the 2019-20 Household Integrated Economic who are more likely to stay out of school and expe- Surveys indicated that women were already vul- rience higher rates of learning poverty compared to nerable, with lower workforce participation and boys. This phenomenon is due to safety concerns, employment rates compared to men. Women limited family resources, and gender-biased social were disproportionately represented in precarious, norms that prioritize boys’ education over girls’. part-time, and temporary jobs, particularly in the Additionally, the collapse of healthcare infrastruc- services sector. The pandemic’s economic impact ture and services limits access to maternal and was more pronounced for women, especially those reproductive healthcare, as well as family plan- engaged in tourism-related activities, such as selling ning services, placing substantial risk burdens on handicrafts and providing food services, which were heavily affected by reduced travel (Botea and Friedson-Ridenour 2020). In Zambia, evidence WOMEN AND GIRLS from an RSR-ADSP Gender Window–funded rapid FACE UNIQUE AND assessment report revealed an increasing risk of COMPLEX CHALLENGES GBV for women and girls. It also highlighted a need for comprehensive GBV prevention and response IN FCV SETTINGS, WHICH measures, including increasing awareness of GBV S I G N I F I C A N T LY H I N D E R and safe reporting mechanisms, access to support THEIR ACCESS TO services, and economic empowerment programs for survivors (Nkonkomalimba and Kutter 2020). ESSENTIAL SERVICES AND I M P E D E H U M A N C A P I TA L Underrepresentation of women in leadership and decision-making positions hampers efforts to A C C U M U L AT I O N . address issues affecting women. Global evidence suggests that women remain underrepresented in women and girls (Hanmer et al. 2024). Additionally, leadership and decision-making across all levels of the risk of being exposed to GBV—including sexual society, from community leadership to higher ech- violence, intimate partner violence, and forced or elons of government and the private sector (World early marriages—is particularly high for women and Bank 2024b). This disparity limits their influence, girls in FCV settings partly due to the breakdown voice, and agency in shaping policy decisions that of legal systems and institutions offering protec- directly affect their lives and businesses. In many tion. For example, in Haiti, one in three women countries, women’s underrepresentation in polit- have experienced GBV including sexual exploita- ical decision-making processes is a major factor tion and abuse, domestic violence, physical abuse, contributing to the absence of gender-responsive and early marriage (World Bank 2023b). Similarly, laws and policies addressing women’s economic 4:  Synthesis of Key Learnings  ●  31 participation and empowerment (Christopherson by the RSR-ADSP Gender Window revealed that et al. 2022). For instance, in St. Lucia, an RSR-ADSP young women in treated households experienced Gender Window–funded report, “Breaking Bar- a 16.0 percentage point reduction in casual work riers to Women’s Economic Inclusion in Saint and a 17.8 percentage point increase in nonfarm Lucia,” highlights the low political representation of self-employment versus those in the comparison women in both the public and private sectors as group. These findings suggest that cash trans- a key factor contributing to their poor socioeco- fers can help women transition from casual labor nomic status since women’s voices are not well to self-employment, invest more in household represented in political decision-making processes welfare, and acquire productive assets (World Bank (World Bank 2023a). and TASAF 2019). Implementing active labor market policies such Promising interventions toward gender as public works programs and employment guar- equality antees can enhance economic opportunities for Cash transfers and economic inclusion programs women. A key learning from this review is that can contribute to improving gender equality out- active labor market policies or programs such as comes for women. The evidence shows that access public works and employment guarantee programs to social protection programs—especially cash plus can directly enhance employment and income for programs—can provide important pathways for poor and vulnerable women, enabling them to enhancing women’s economic empowerment and address various economic needs. For example, in can challenge restrictive norms impeding gender the Democratic Republic of Congo, results of an equality. For example, in Congo Brazzaville, an RSR-ADSP Gender Window–funded evaluation on RSR-ADSP Gender Window–funded evaluation of the gendered impact of a public works program the Lisungi Social Safety Net Project and its associ- shows that women’s participation in such programs ated income-generating activities program showed can increase the likelihood of savings and engage- that providing cash transfers and business support ment in income-generating activities even after grants to women enabled them to meet the health the public works programs are completed. It was and education needs of their children and partici- found that women participants were more likely pate in income-generating activities. This not only than men to start up and operate a new business. improved their economic status but also positively Also, they were able to leverage participation in the affected their self-esteem, since these women can public works program to start non-agricultural pro- now have a say in decisions concerning themselves ductive enterprises providing income for them and and their children (Koulounda and Schuettler their households (Lopez-Avila and Buehren 2023). 2022). Similarly, in Zambia, an RSR-ADSP Gender Window intervention that provided cash transfers Access to education, skills development, and job in tandem with livelihood support measures such placement support outcomes. Bolstering women’s as start-up grants and training in business skills access to education (foundational literacy and has enabled over 100,000 marginalized women to numeracy), skills development training in areas engage in productive economic activities—gener- such as technical and vocational education, busi- ating income for themselves and their households, ness management skills (financial literacy, business and empowering them to make informed decisions planning, marketing, etc.), and socioemotional skills based on their needs and preferences (World Bank (communication, negotiation, personal initiative, 2024a). In Tanzania, findings from a midline evalua- etc.), can improve their employment outcomes. It tion of the productive social safety program funded has also been demonstrated that combining skills 32  ●  RSR-ADSP Gender Window Review Report October 2024 training with job placement support—including can significantly ease time constraints for women, internships and apprenticeships—can generate enabling them to work and thereby contributing better employment opportunities for women to their greater economic agency. For instance, in and improve their earnings. For example, Benin’s Ghana, evidence from a qualitative assessment of Youth Employment Project provided a combina- the Ghana Productive Safety Net Project funded by tion of life skills training, technical training, a cash the RSR-ADSP Gender Window showed that the pro- start-up grant, regular mentorship, and network- vision of mobile crèche/daycare facilities at public ing opportunities to young women to enhance work sites allowed women with childcare respon- their employment skills. Findings from a qualita- sibilities to participate in employment and earn tive impact evaluation funded by the RSR-ADSP income (Friedson-Ridenour et al. 2023). Similarly, Gender Window revealed that this approach in Burkina Faso, the integration of mobile child- improved women’s readiness for the job market, care crèches has had significant positive impacts with many women successfully transitioning into on women’s employment by enabling them to take male-dominated occupations (World Bank 2022a). part in labor-intensive public works programs (Ajayi, Dao, and Koussoubé 2022). In Peru, evidence from Incorporating community-level dialogue and an RSR-ADSP Gender Window report on the Cuna engagement in social protection programs can Más communal childcare program reveals that the help mitigate the effect of gender-biased social availability of childcare services is associated with a norms. Broad-based community dialogue and higher likelihood that women caregivers will seek stakeholder engagement have been shown to employment and accept full-time work when it is be effective in addressing the impact of social offered (Zumaeta 2023). norms on gender equality. For example, in Niger, as part of the Adaptive Social Safety Nets Project, Key knowledge and learning gaps a community sensitization campaign and dia- logue around the benefits of women’s economic A critical review of the knowledge and learning participation are helping to influence individual projects developed under the RSR-ADSP Gender behavior and attitudes on women’s engagement Window clearly shows that key knowledge gaps in productive activities and their role in household exist in addressing global megatrends (e.g., climate decision-making (Thomas et al. 2024). An RSR-ADSP change, FCV, food and nutrition security, and digiti- Gender Window–funded report from Zambia illus- zation) and on the care economy. These knowledge trates that engaging local community leaders can gaps are discussed below. recalibrate norms and promote gender-equitable relationships between men and women. The report Addressing women’s economic empowerment highlights the importance of involving men and boys in the context of fragility, conflict, and displace- in discussions on masculinity norms and gender ment. Although several RSR-ADSP Gender Window stereotypes, which can help shift negative percep- interventions aimed at enhancing women’s eco- tions. Male champions who demonstrate equitable nomic empowerment have been implemented behavior can have a significant impact, inspiring in countries affected by fragility, conflict, and dis- positive changes in mindset and attitudes within placement, many of these projects either do not the community (Shrestha and O’Donnell 2021). contain an explicit FCV lens or were not initially designed to respond to the unique challenges of Provision of quality and affordable childcare an FCV context. Given these challenges, addressing can improve women’s labor force participation. gender equality and promoting women’s economic Access to quality and affordable childcare services 4:  Synthesis of Key Learnings  ●  33 inclusion in FCV settings requires interventions digital financial tools that are most effective in that are strategically tailored to the local situation addressing women’s economic needs. and the dynamics of fragility and conflict, and their intersectionality with gender-based vulnerabilities Addressing the interplay between climate change stemming from FCV situations. Generic interven- and gender. Climate change is not gender neutral. tions stand the risk of not being able to respond to In many countries, women and other vulnerable local conditions in FCV, and may increase tension groups tend to be disproportionately affected and conflict or exacerbate GBV. by the impact of climate change and face more challenges in accessing climate-related oppor- tunities (Deininger et al. 2023). Considering that KEY KNOWLEDGE GAPS women are structurally disadvantaged in areas such as access to skills, jobs, and information, they EXIST IN ADDRESSING stand relatively little chance of benefiting from the G LO B A L M E G AT R E N D S A N D imminent shift to a green economy unless clear O N T H E C A R E E C O N O M Y. gender-inclusive policies and interventions are designed and implemented to enhance their par- ticipation. Given the salience of these issues, more Understanding the institutional dynamics of analytical work on addressing the gender-climate gender outcomes in FCV settings. Gender inequal- nexus is needed. ities in FCV settings can be exacerbated by the breakdown of both formal and informal insti- Analytical evidence on the quality, standards, and tutions in the policy arena. This breakdown can differentiated impact of various childcare service severely affect the enforcement and development delivery models. Although it is clearly estab- of gender-responsive policies and practices. Efforts lished that providing access to childcare services are thus needed to understand and address these increases women’s labor supply, knowledge on dif- institutional gaps or emerging challenges and their ferent care models, and the differentiated impact implications for gender equality outcomes. of these models—for example, private versus public provision, and individual versus communal Knowledge of gender-specific barriers affecting childcare models—on women’s economic partici- the uptake and utilization of digital technologies pation requires more attention. There is also a need by women. Despite a growing body of evidence to expand the knowledge base and understand on the impact of digital technology tools and plat- barriers to childcare services from both a demand forms such as mobile money services on women’s and supply perspective, highlighting issues such economic outcomes, knowledge of the barriers as affordability, quality of care, social and gender hampering their effective uptake and utilization— norms, and regulation, among others. Many of beyond receiving cash benefits in cash transfer the interventions addressing childcare services programs, particularly in lower-middle-income have been centered on provision through piloting countries—remains limited. Given that such digital various models, particularly in the context of public technologies have demonstrated a huge potential works programs. Not much has yet been done to to revolutionize the financial services landscape examine issues pertaining to the quality standards by targeting low-income groups, there is a need of service providers and adherence to the rules and to understand the factors limiting their uptake and regulations governing childcare service provision. use, especially among women. Evidence generated in this area can inform the design of gender-smart 34  ●  RSR-ADSP Gender Window Review Report October 2024 5 Conclusion and Recommendations T he RSR-ADSP Gender Window has been instrumental in developing and promoting gender-transformative social protection policies, systems, and programs to reduce gender gaps and boost socioeco- nomic outcomes for women and girls. Through its support for a diverse range of innovative activities, the Gender Window has addressed multi- ple sources of vulnerability that limit opportunities for women and girls. It has made significant investments in building evidence and know-how, strengthening capacity, promoting knowledge, and designing and imple- menting gender-smart social protection policies and programs. This approach has not only enhanced the effectiveness of social protection interventions but also ensured that gender considerations are integrated into policy making and program implementation, leading to more inclu- sive and equitable development outcomes. By leveraging World Bank IDA/ IBRD financing, the RSR-ADSP Gender Window has amplified its impact, demonstrating the importance of gender-responsive approaches in achieving sustainable development goals. Moving forward and in line with the main findings of this review, the fol- lowing is recommended: ● Build on the significant gains achieved to date. Given the huge suc- cesses of the current phase of the RSR-ADSP Gender Window and the elevation of the gender equity agenda as a key priority area in World Bank operations, it is essential for the RSR-ADSP Gender Window to build on the significant gains achieved to date and continue to advance gender equality and empowerment for women and girls globally through targeted social protection interventions. This effort requires scaling up successful interventions and addressing challenges or knowledge gaps in areas such as social norms; the care economy; fra- gility, conflict, and violence; climate; and gender data. By focusing on these key areas, the RSR-ADSP Gender Window can drive further prog- ress in gender-transformative social protection programming. 35 36  ●  RSR-ADSP Gender Window Review Report October 2024 ● Expand the geographical scope and systematize Gender Window can more effectively support the learning from high-impact interventions. gender equality, women’s empowerment, and While a majority of RSR-ADSP Gender Window human capital accumulation in a rapidly chang- interventions have been concentrated in Africa, ing global context. it is crucial for the Gender Window to expand its geographic scope to include high-impact ● Leverage country-level work to elevate learn- interventions in other regions while consider- ings to regional and global levels. The RSR-ADSP ing regional and country priorities. This broader Gender Window has effectively generated focus will help address gender inequalities and extensive knowledge on gender-responsive support women’s socioeconomic empower- social protection measures, primarily targeted ment globally. By diversifying its geographic at the country level. This focus has been driven reach, the RSR-ADSP Gender Window can iden- by the need to ensure effective operational tify and implement context-specific strategies application of the evidence and learning. To that cater to the unique challenges faced by maximize the impact of these insights, however, women in different parts of the world. Expand- it is crucial to leverage these country-specific ing the scope of interventions will also facilitate learnings to foster cross-regional and global the exchange of best practices and innovative knowledge integration. By doing so, valu- solutions across regions—ultimately contrib- able lessons and best practices can be shared uting to a more comprehensive and effective more broadly, enhancing the overall impact approach to promoting gender equality and of RSR-ADSP Gender Window initiatives. This women’s empowerment worldwide. approach will ensure that successful strat- egies and innovations developed in one ● Deepen research and innovation into global country or region can inform and improve megatrends. The current activities of the gender-responsive social protection interven- RSR-ADSP Gender Window have primarily tions globally, promoting a more cohesive and focused on addressing income poverty and effective response to gender inequality and enhancing economic opportunities for women. social protection challenges worldwide. However, there is a growing need to expand this focus to include building resilience and tackling ● Support partnership building and cross­ new global challenges such as fragility, conflict, ­institutional learning. In light of the renewed displacement, climate change, food and nutri- global interest in working together to find tion security, automation, and access to digital common solutions to development challenges, technology. This expansion of focus is essential it may be imperative for a future RSR-ADSP to push the frontiers in addressing the evolving Gender Window to expand on leveraging part- and multifaceted nature of gender gaps, espe- nerships and collaborative efforts beyond the cially for vulnerable women—including women World Bank to generate evidence and foster with disabilities—and the forcibly displaced. cross-institutional learning on gender equality By redirecting attention and resources toward in social protection programming. these emerging issues, a future RSR-ADSP Appendixes:  Conclusion and Recommendations  ●  37 Appendixes Appendix A:  RSR-ADSP Gender Window Grants, Rounds 16–21 Round # Country Region Title Amount ($) 21 1 São Tomé and AFR Empowerment of Vulnerable Family Program 130,000 Príncipe Beneficiaries through the Promotion of Family-Positive Behaviors 21 2 Jamaica LAC Strengthening the Delivery of Integrated Case 140,000 Management Services in Jamaica 21 3 Zambia AFR Inclusion of Cash Plus Care for Vulnerable 200,000 Children Affected by COVID-19 in Zambia in Social Protection 21 4 Liberia AFR Integrated Social Protection to Promote 200,000 Positive Parenting 21 4 Rwanda AFR Embedding Cash Plus Care into Rwanda’s 200,000 Flagship Social Protection Program 21 6 Albania ECA Strengthening the Provision of Integrated 190,000 Cash Benefits and Services for Vulnerable Children in the Poorest Households in Albania 21 7 Congo, Rep. AFR Leveraging Crèches as Quality Care 200,000 Multipliers in Brazzaville 21 8 Mauritania AFR Improving Children’s Well-Being through Cash 160,000 Transfers and a Family Dialog Intervention 21 9 Uzbekistan ECA Support for the Improvement of the Quality 200,000 of Care Services Provided for Children Deprived of Parental Care in Uzbekistan 21 10 Sri Lanka SAR Enhancing Family Development in Sri Lanka 194,000 21 11 Honduras LAC Enhancing Cash Plus Early Childhood 200,000 Development Policies and Programs in Honduras 21 12 Papua New EAP Digitizing “CASH + CARE” Service Delivery for 200,000 Guinea Children and Women in Papua New Guinea 20 1 Vietnam EAP Building Financial Resilience of Vietnamese 250,000 Women through Voluntary Social Insurance 20 2 Micronesia, Fed. EAP Building the Foundations of Gender-Inclusive 250,000 Sts. Social Protection in the Federated States of Micronesia 38 Appendix A:  RSR-ADSP Gender Window Grants, Rounds 16–21  ●  39 Round # Country Region Title Amount ($) 20 3 5 countries each EAP, SAR Quantifying the Gender Gap in Social 250,000 in EAP and SAR Protection Systems in 10 Asian Countries 20 4 Pakistan SAR Improving the Effectiveness of Pakistan’s 250,000 Targeting Mechanisms 20 5 Nepal, Argentina LAC, SAR Improving Women’s Attachment to Labor 250,000 Market by Rethinking Parental Benefits Policies 20 6 Bangladesh SAR The Impact of Social Norms on Shaping 250,000 Women’s Behavior and Decision-Making in Bangladesh 20 7 n.a. Global Inflation-Proof Safety Nets 250,000 19 1 Nepal SAR Transforming the Work Space: Responding 250,000 to the COVID-19 Impact on Women’s Employment in Nepal 19 2 Tanzania AFR Tanzania: Gender-Sensitive Social Protection 250,000 in the Era of COVID-19 19 4 Zambia AFR Evaluating Approaches to Support Girls’ 250,000 School Return & Retention in the Wake of COVID-19 19 5 Kiribati EAP Supporting Gender Inclusion through Social 250,000 Protection in Kiribati 19 6 Papua New EAP Strengthening the Social Protection System 250,000 Guinea to Promote Women’s Empowerment and Address Gender-Based Violence in Papua New Guinea 19 8 Ethiopia AFR Using Technology to Make Ethiopia’s Labor 250,000 Market Work for Young Women 19 11 Pakistan SAR Supporting a Green, Resilient, and Inclusive 250,000 Recovery for Poor and Vulnerable Women in Selected Districts of Punjab, Pakistan 19 12 Tonga EAP Building Gender-Smart Adaptive Social 250,000 Protection in Tonga for Green, Resilient, and Inclusive Recovery 19 15 Liberia AFR Improving Informal Sector Women’s 250,000 Resilience in Liberia through the Empowerment Approach 19 16 Grenada, St. LAC Strengthening Women’s Economic 250,000 Lucia, Dominica Opportunities and Resilience for an Inclusive COVID-19 Crisis Recovery in the Caribbean 19 19 Belize LAC Productive Inclusion and Female 240,280 Entrepreneurship to Promote a Sustainable Post-Pandemic Recovery in Belize 19 20 Samoa EAP Samoa Adaptive and Gender-Smart Social 250,000 Protection Systems 40  ●  RSR-ADSP Gender Window Review Report October 2024 Round # Country Region Title Amount ($) 19 24 South Africa, AFR National Digital Jobseeker Tools for Gender 250,000 Ethiopia Equality, Social Inclusion, and the Shift to Post-COVID Green Growth 19 26 n.a. Global The Future of Public Works after COVID-19: 240,000 Supporting Green, Digital, and Caregiving Public Works 19 27 Brazil LAC Women’s Economic Inclusion through Labor 250,000 and Social Assistance Services 19 28 n.a. MNA The Future of Social Protection in MENA: 77,600 Updating MENA ASPIRE Administrative Data 19 29 n.a. Global Safety First E-Learning Package: How to 150,000 Leverage Safety Nets to Prevent GBV 18 2 n.a. Global Where Is the Money Coming From? Sources, 300,000 Evolution, and Innovations in Financing Social Assistance for COVID-19 Response and Beyond 18 3 Fiji EAP Building Adaptive and Gender-Smart Social 300,000 Protection Delivery Systems after the Dual Shocks of COVID-19 and Tropical Cyclone Harold in Fiji 18 4 Colombia LAC Promoting a Gender-Transformative 207,000 Post-Pandemic Social and Economic Reactivation in Bogota 18 6 Sierra Leone AFR Feasibility Study for Flexible Social Protection 300,000 for the Informal Sector 18 9 Gambia, The AFR Promoting the Social and Economic 300,000 Empowerment of Rural Women in The Gambia 18 11 Burundi AFR Supporting Burundi’s Early Recovery from 300,000 COVID-19 Economic Impact 18 12 Haiti LAC Developing an Evidence-Based Adaptive 300,000 Safety Net in Haiti 18 13 Côte d’Ivoire AFR Towards a More Resilient and Productive 288,000 Urban Informal Sector 18 14 Zimbabwe AFR Piloting Social Protection Interventions to 300,000 Keep Adolescent Girls in School in Zimbabwe 18 15 Mozambique AFR Responding to the “Shadow Pandemic”: 300,000 Enhancing Young Women’s Lives and Livelihoods in Mozambique 18 16 Mali AFR Understanding the Individually Differentiated 290,000 Impacts of Providing Cash and Productive Inclusion Transfers and Information to Women or Men in Poor Rural Households 18 17 Côte d’Ivoire AFR Countering the COVID-19 Impact on Women 295,000 and Vulnerable Populations in Côte d’Ivoire Appendix A:  RSR-ADSP Gender Window Grants, Rounds 16–21  ●  41 Round # Country Region Title Amount ($) 18 20 Bangladesh, SAR Empowering Women in the Informal Plastic 300,000 Maldives, Waste Management Sector across South Asia Pakistan, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka 18 21 Bolivia, Ecuador, LAC Positive and Negative Impacts on Women 280,000 Peru and Girls of Innovations in the Delivery of Social Protection Programs in Response to COVID-19 18 22 South Sudan AFR Enhanced GBV Prevention, Risk Mitigation, 300,000 and Response through Social Safety Nets 18 24 Bhutan SAR Adaptive and Gender-Sensitive Social 300,000 Protection System in Bhutan 18 25 Ghana, Liberia, AFR Building Flexible Social Protection Services 290,000 Niger, Senegal for Recovery and Resilience in Africa’s Urban Informal Sector 18 27 Indonesia EAP Supporting Community-Led Outreach 300,000 Models to Improve Enrollment in COVID-19 Social and Economic Assistance Programs for Women and Vulnerable Populations 17 1 Guinea AFR Supporting Gender Empowerment through 300,000 Innovative Social Protection Interventions in Guinea 17 2 Liberia AFR Empowering Women through Digital Cash 300,000 Payments and Mobile Phones 17 3 Bangladesh SAR Gender-Transformative Innovations to 190,000 Address Social Norms through Social Safety Nets in Bangladesh 17 4 Congo, Dem. AFR Measuring the Gendered Impacts of the 300,000 Rep. Social Response to the Ebola Crisis Program 17 5 Congo, Rep. AFR Informing Gender-Smart Social Protection in 300,000 Congo 17 6 Madagascar, AFR, SAR Towards Gender-Smart Delivery Systems: 300,000 Pakistan, Redesigning the Citizen Interface with a Rwanda Gender Lens 17 7 Gambia, The; AFR Support to Operationalizing the Women’s 300,000 Ghana; Nigeria; Empowerment Agenda within SPJ in Africa Zambia 17 8 Senegal AFR Applying Behavioral Science Insights to 300,000 Reduce Early Marriages in Senegal 17 9 Indonesia EAP Towards Gender-Smart Social Protection in 300,000 Indonesia 17 10 Bangladesh, EAP, SAR Elder Care and Female Employment in Asia: 300,000 China, Indonesia, Addressing Aging Needs from a Gender Mongolia, Perspective Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam 42  ●  RSR-ADSP Gender Window Review Report October 2024 Round # Country Region Title Amount ($) 16 1 Ghana, Liberia, AFR Design of Survivor Pensions and Its Impact on 210,000 Sierra Leone Social Protection of Female Elderly in Africa 16 2 Nigeria AFR Gender-Smart Digital Payments in Nigeria 209,650 16 3 Liberia AFR Changing Social Norms among Female Young 210,000 Entrepreneurs in Liberia to Improve Their Productivity and Earnings 16 4 Afghanistan SAR Building the Evidence for Afghan Women’s 210,000 Economic Empowerment 16 5 Lao PDR EAP Improving the Gender Sensitivity of the Social 192,500 Protection System in Lao PDR 16 6 Benin AFR Using Evidence to Boost Gender Impacts of 56,000 the Youth Inclusion Project 16 7 Cameroon AFR Design and Testing of GBV Prevention 210,000 Accompanying Measures for a Social Safety Net Program 16 8 Niger AFR Expanding Access to Economic Opportunities 210,000 & Financial Inclusion for Refugee and Host Community Women in Niger 16 9 Zambia AFR Adapting Social Protection Programming in 210,000 Zambia to Protect and Empower Girls and Women 16 10 Ghana AFR Understanding Female Labor Transitions and 175,000 Behavioral Determinants in Ghana 16 11 India SAR Increasing Female Labor Force Participation 210,000 through Girls’ Economic Empowerment 16 12 Brazil LAC Promoting Gender Equity within the Social 192,500 Assistance System in Urban Contexts Note: AFR = Africa; EAP = East Asia and Pacific; GBV = gender-based violence; LAC = Latin America and the Caribbean; MENA = Middle East and North Africa; MNA = Middle East and North Africa; SAR = South Asia; SPJ = Social Protection and Jobs. Appendix B:  Implementation Progress of Round 21 Grants (as of May 2024) The RSR-ADSP Gender Window Round 21 includes first cohort of “mamapreneurs” for training in the 12 projects focused on the care economy, with a Republic of Congo; technical inputs for operational total investment of $2.241  million. These grants manuals and development of monitoring and were awarded in July 2023 and are currently under evaluation instruments in Honduras; and develop- implementation. Projects aim to enhance cash ment of a case management information system plus care interventions, male engagement, inter- (MIS) in Jamaica. In Papua New Guinea, efforts are personal violence prevention, case management under way to digitize service delivery for women services for at-risk women and children, inclusion and children through a prototype MIS and mobile of vulnerable children affected by COVID-19, and application. In Rwanda, the focus is on embedding positive parenting training and education. Activities cash plus care interventions into the country’s flag- supported under this window focus on building ship social protection program. A more detailed evidence of effective cash plus care interventions, project implementation status follows. data gathering on positive parenting, developing training manuals, providing technical assistance for Albania: Strengthening the Provision of Integrated program design and implementation, facilitating Cash Benefits and Services for Vulnerable Children knowledge exchange and learning, and supporting in the Poorest Households in Albania. The project capacity building. in Albania aims to enhance the impact of child and education benefits for vulnerable children in the Of the 12 grants, 6 are concentrated in Africa, with poorest households by improving case manage- two each in Europe and Central Asia and Latin ment and social care services. It consists of three America and the Caribbean; the East Asia and components: assessing current case management Pacific and South Asia regions have one grant each systems, identifying best practices for interven- (table B1.1). In terms of grant distribution by country tions, and developing a policy note for improving economic level, seven activities are being imple- human capital through case management. Progress mented in IDA countries, two are in IBRD countries, includes ongoing assessment of case management and three are in blend countries. The majority of systems, with legislative review completed and the grants (nine) are being implemented in non– fieldwork preparation under way. International case fragility, conflict, and violence countries. studies are also in progress. The grant-funded projects have made good prog- Republic of Congo: Leveraging Crèches as Quality ress, and most activities are in line with the project Care Multipliers in Brazzaville. To date, significant completion timeline. Activity examples include progress has been made in implementing the grant development and validation of training manuals project in Brazzaville. Key milestones achieved and standards for crèches, and selection of the include the development and validation of the 43 44  ●  RSR-ADSP Gender Window Review Report October 2024 Table B1.1  R21 grants under implementation Country Region Title Albania ECA Strengthening the Provision of Integrated Cash Benefits and Services for Vulnerable Children in the Poorest Households in Albania Congo, Rep. AFR Leveraging Crèches as Quality Care Multipliers in Brazzaville Honduras LAC Enhancing Cash Plus Early Childhood Development Policies and Programs in Honduras Jamaica LAC Strengthening the Delivery of Integrated Case Management Services in Jamaica Liberia AFR Integrated Social Protection to Promote Positive Parenting Mauritania AFR Improving Children’s Well-Being through Cash Transfers and a Family Dialog Intervention Papua New Guinea EAP Digitizing “CASH + CARE” Service Delivery for Children and Women in Papua New Guinea Rwanda AFR Embedding Cash Plus Care into Rwanda’s Flagship Social Protection Program São Tomé and Príncipe AFR Empowerment of Vulnerable Family Program Beneficiaries through the Promotion of Family-Positive Behaviors Sri Lanka SAR Enhancing Family Development in Sri Lanka Uzbekistan ECA Support for the Improvement of the Quality of Care Services Provided for Children Deprived of Parental Care in Uzbekistan Zambia AFR Inclusion of Cash Plus Care for Vulnerable Children Affected by COVID-19 in Zambia in Social Protection Note: AFR = Africa; EAP = East Asia and Pacific; LAC = Latin America and the Caribbean; MNA = Middle East and North Africa; SAR = South Asia. mamapreneur training manual, quality standards Honduras: Enhancing Cash Plus Early Childhood for crèches, and parental engagement materi- Development Policies and Programs in Honduras. als. The first cohort of mamapreneurs has been This project aims to support integrated social pro- selected, with their training set to commence in tection policies and programs in Honduras, with a May 2024. The project is on track to have the initial focus on early childhood development for poor and crèches operational by the end of August 2024, in extremely poor families. The project is structured line with the project objectives to enhance paren- around two main pillars: (1) updating and validat- tal engagement for improving caregiving skills, ing social protection and early childhood laws and utilize digital tools for tracking early childhood (2) developing tools to enhance cash plus care development milestones, and pilot meal provision programs. Key activities include providing tech- in partnership with the World Food Programme. nical inputs for operational manuals, developing The pilot was also presented at the Africa Gender targeting strategies, and creating monitoring and Innovation Lab seminar on care, It’s About Time, in evaluation instruments. Progress to date includes March 2024. sharing technical comments on proposed policies with the government; drafting outlines and notes for operations manuals; and planning a June 2024 Appendix B:  Implementation Progress of Round 21 Grants (as of May 2024)  ●  45 mission during which inputs for the operations Mauritania: Improving Children’s Well-Being manual for the competitive fund will be drafted, through Cash Transfers and a Family Dialog Inter- demonstration of the use of administrative data vention. The project intends to assess the impact for the Plan Crecer early childhood development of a cash transfer and gender-focused pilot (Family program will be presented to government, and Dialog) on children’s well-being and development focus groups with parents will be conducted. The while providing technical assistance to enhance project is on track for completion by August 30, gender-responsive programming. The project 2024. includes implementing and evaluating a parent- ing intervention, and disseminating lessons on its Jamaica: Strengthening the Delivery of Integrated effects on gender-based violence and children’s Case Management Services in Jamaica. One of the welfare. Key deliverables include monitoring and main objectives of the project is to remove barriers evaluation reports, quantitative data, a policy note, in providing case management services to vulner- and a dissemination workshop. Progress includes able women and children. The project includes finalized training modules on positive parenting, developing a unified social program intake form, community screenings, capacity building of the designing a mobile case management application, facilitators, and robust monitoring and evaluation and funding knowledge exchange workshops on data collection. The final report and policy note will best practices. To date, the team has conducted be completed by August 2024, with a dissemina- virtual and in-person missions, held knowledge tion workshop planned for late August 2024. exchange sessions, and finalized business pro- cesses and the design of the intake form. A case MIS Papua New Guinea: Digitizing “CASH + CARE” prototype, which would be available as a mobile Service Delivery for Children and Women in Papua application, is also under way. New Guinea. The grant aims to support the govern- ment of Papua New Guinea in efficiently managing Liberia: Integrated Social Protection to Promote information and delivery systems for women and Positive Parenting. The grant aims to enhance children through digitization. It focuses on devel- and scale up cash plus care interventions by pro- oping a prototype MIS for cash plus care, assessing viding positive parenting training to beneficiaries community-level data collection feasibility, and childcare providers under the Recovery of and analyzing data for program monitoring. Key Economic Activity for Liberian Informal Sector achievements include developing and deploying Employment (REALISE) project. The grant supports a prototype MIS, registering 110 beneficiaries, facil- five key activities: assessing beneficiary train- itating child grant payments, and creating a mobile ing on positive and playful parenting, redesigning application for offline data collection. A preliminary training materials, conducting training of trainers, technical note has been prepared, and expansion monitoring and evaluating the training of trainers’ to new communities is under way. effectiveness, and engaging stakeholders through dissemination. Progress includes completing the Rwanda: Embedding Cash Plus Care into Rwanda’s assessment of existing training materials, con- Flagship Social Protection Program. Integrating ducting the training, and finalizing monitoring and evidence-based family-strengthening interventions evaluation activities. A draft of updated training into Rwanda’s flagship social protection program to materials has been completed and used, with final enhance human capital development is one of the updates to be made after a virtual technical review primary objectives of the project. The grant focuses in June 2024. The final presentation covering all on improving caregiver well-being, engaging male grant activities is scheduled for August 2024. caregivers, and strengthening early childhood 46  ●  RSR-ADSP Gender Window Review Report October 2024 development initiatives through a family approach. The grant supported the new National Agency for Achievements include conducting regional dis- Social Protection in preparing the first registry of semination events, training 639 child protection alternative care services. Through this effort, 219 workers, and developing a digital dashboard for services have been mapped with 20,028 benefi- family enrollment and monitoring. The program is ciaries. The World Bank, in close collaboration with progressing with continuous training and embed- UNICEF, supported the National Agency for Social ding the interventions into government structures, Protection in developing 10 detailed instruments with completion expected by August 31, 2024. for data collection. A data collection tool allowing different types of users to gather information in a São Tomé and Príncipe: Empowerment of Vul- systematic and error-free way was also developed. nerable Family Program Beneficiaries through Additionally, the project has facilitated knowledge the Promotion of Family-Positive Behaviors. The exchange on deinstitutionalization with interna- project in São Tomé and Príncipe aims to empower tional counterparts. vulnerable children and women by promoting pos- itive family behaviors. The project includes four Zambia: Inclusion of Cash Plus Care for Vulner- main activities: diagnosing caregiving practices and able Children Affected by COVID-19 in Zambia workforce capacity needs, revising the Parental in Social Protection. The project aims to support Education Program (PEP+) to integrate content on the Zambian government in designing and pilot- caregiver well-being, male engagement, and inti- ing service delivery models to integrate vulnerable mate partner violence prevention, strengthening children affected by COVID-19 into mainstream social service workforce practices, and developing social protection programming and cash plus care a parenting communication campaign. So far, the support. The grant finances activities to strengthen diagnostic of caregiving practices and workforce social protection systems, enhance service delivery capacity needs has been completed, findings dis- linkages and referrals, and build institutional capac- cussed with the government, and PEP+ content ity for implementing cash plus care interventions. revisions are in progress. Key deliverables include reports with recommen- dations for enhancing the government’s social cash Sri Lanka: Enhancing Family Development in Sri transfer program targeting protocols and guide- Lanka. No progress report had been provided at lines, enhanced community case management the time of this review. guidelines, capacity-building and implementa- tion plans, training for social welfare workforce, Uzbekistan: Support for the Improvement of the South-South learning tours, and a lessons learned Quality of Care Services Provided for Children workshop. Although initial procurement challenges Deprived of Parental Care in Uzbekistan. 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