17 research outputs found
Women’s empowerment and COVID-19: A case study from Kenya
No full textResearch shows that the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic varied greatly by country, class, race and gender (Pangborn & Rea, 2020). In this study we aim to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic affected empowered and disempowered individuals differently. This policy note summarizes how income was affected by the pandemic, followed by an assessment of coping mechanisms with the crisis and their interactions with women’s empowerment
Women’s empowerment and COVID-19: A case study from Kenya
No full textResearch shows that the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic varied greatly by country, class, race and gender (Pangborn & Rea, 2020). In this study we aim to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic affected empowered and disempowered individuals differently. This policy note summarizes how income was affected by the pandemic, followed by an assessment of coping mechanisms with the crisis and their interactions with women’s empowerment.Non-PRIFPRI1; GCAN; Feed the Future Initiative; CRP7; 1 Fostering Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Food Supply; Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture IndexEPTDCGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS
Women’s Empowerment in Migration Index (WEMI): A tool to monitor progress on the reduction of forced labour and human trafficking
No full textEvidence on the number of migrant women affected by forced labour and human trafficking is scant. Even more alarmingly, little is known about the role of women’s agency in migration. In this paper, we develop the conceptual framework and key elements of a Women’s Empowerment in Migration Index (WEMI) that aims to reflect the multiple dimensions of agency of female migrants. We argue that WEMI is integral to monitoring progress towards SDG 8.7 on the eradication of forced labour, modern slavery, and human trafficking.
Since the 1990s there has been a particular focus on women’s empowerment in agriculture with burgeoning evidence on the negative consequences of the gender gap and increasing feminisation of agriculture. Existing country-level indices like the Gender Development Index (GDI) or the Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) have been widely adapted for measuring progress, but are inadequate to measure empowerment at the individual level as defined by Kabeer (1999). Kabeer (1999) defines empowerment “as a process by which people expand their ability to make strategic life choices” (Malapit et al. 2019). Kabeer’s framework has been used as a basis for the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), a multidimensional index based on individual-level data of male and female household members (Alkire et al. 2013). Based on the notion of three types of agency (Malapit et al. 2019), intrinsic agency (power within); instrumental agency (power to); and collective agency (power with) this paper develops, to our knowledge, the first tool to measure empowerment of migrant women. The WEMI includes five dimensions beyond the WEAI, including control over the use of remittances, the experience of abuse at work, access to social networks, physical mobility and time-use agency. As women’s empowerment affects and is affected by different stages of the migration process, the WEMI aims to reflect changes in the agency of women across different stages of migration: pre-departure/potential migrants (in the country of origin), migrants during the migration stage (from departure training, to being fully integrated at the country of work), at work in host country and following the return to the country of origin.
The WEMI will advance research over earlier assessments of women’s experiences in the migration process beyond more seemingly objective indicators, such as income, health and nutrition to incorporate subjective wellbeing statements in the migration literature. The framework and index will be tested in Bangladesh in districts with high international migration of women to Middle Eastern countries, including the garment sector in Jordan and as domestic care workers in Lebanon
South Africa’s hospital sector : old divisions and new developments
Get PDFCITATION: Ranchod, S., et al. 2017. South Africa’s hospital sector : old divisions and new developments. South African Health Review, 2017(1):101-110.The original publication is available at https://www.hst.org.zaThe hospital sector in South Africa mirrors deep inequalities in the country as a whole. The private, for-profit hospital sector is well resourced and caters to a population that tends to be wealthier, urban and more likely to be formally employed. The public-hospital sector, catering to the majority of South Africans, faces lower human-resourcing ratios, financial constraints and ageing infrastructure.
This chapter contextualises the development of the two sectors, describes the current divide, and considers the implications in terms of equity, access and quality of care.
A unique dataset of quality-accreditation-survey scores was used, which allowed for analysis of the two sectors according to a common yardstick. These data reflect a wide array of structure- and process-related quality indicators; in addition, the patient perspective reflected in data from the General Household Survey was used to illustrate the quality differential. The research provides evidence of the polarisation between public and private facilities: private facilities consistently scored above public facilities across a range of accreditation categories, and there was far greater variability in the scores achieved by public facilities. The same polarised relationship was found to hold across key sub-components of the scores, such as management and leadership of hospitals in the two sectors.
We conclude that there is a need for the measurement of health outcomes across the system. Policy attention is required in terms of accountability and quality improvement. A focus on improving value in the system will, by necessity, have to engage with the discrepancies between the sectors.https://www.hst.org.za/publications/Pages/HST-South-African-Health-Review-2017.aspxPublisher's versio
Survey on Gendered Constraints to Employment and Entrepreneurship, Lesotho
No full textThe dataset comprises a sample of small and medium-sized enterprises in Lesotho interviewed in 2021. The sectors represented are farms; agro-processors; other agricultural businesses; manufacturers; tourism industries & creative industries. The survey instrument was designed to capture information on the experiences of and constraints to employment and entrepreneurship among under-represented groups, specifically: women, youth & persons with disabilities
Reducing vulnerability to forced labor and trafficking of short-term, low-skilled women migrant workers in the South Asia to Middle East corridor
Get PDFMillions of female migrants experience various forms of exploitative and unsafe conditions when migrating for employment and income generation, both in countries of origin and in destination countries. Vulnerabilities increased further due to the Covid-19 pandemic, causing income and job losses, entrapment in countries of destination without financial or social support and stigmatization upon return. One of the key migration routes travelled by millions of migrants is from South Asia to the Middle East. We examine this migration route for low-skilled female migrant workers highlighting the impacts of interventions along the migration pathway to determine the effectiveness of alternative mechanisms for reducing forced labour and trafficking. We draw lessons from the literature as well as from interviews with key informants in the field, including academics, development partners, NGO workers, and policymakers, to identify promising interventions that successfully reduce the vulnerability of women migrants. We find that, while Covid-19 has increased migrant vulnerability, it has also exposed the current system’s violations in facilitating trafficking and exacerbating poor working conditions
Reducing vulnerability to forced labor and trafficking of short-term, low-skilled women migrant workers in the South Asia to Middle East corridor
No full textMillions of female migrants experience various forms of exploitative and unsafe conditions when migrating for employment and income generation, both in countries of origin and in destination countries. Vulnerabilities increased further due to the Covid-19 pandemic, causing income and job losses, entrapment in countries of destination without financial or social support and stigmatization upon return. One of the key migration routes travelled by millions of migrants is from South Asia to the Middle East. We examine this migration route for low-skilled female migrant workers highlighting the impacts of interventions along the migration pathway to determine the effectiveness of alternative mechanisms for reducing forced labour and trafficking. We draw lessons from the literature as well as from interviews with key informants in the field, including academics, development partners, NGO workers, and policymakers, to identify promising interventions that successfully reduce the vulnerability of women migrants. We find that, while Covid-19 has increased migrant vulnerability, it has also exposed the current system’s violations in facilitating trafficking and exacerbating poor working conditions
Reducing vulnerability to forced labour and trafficking of women migrant workers from South- to West-Asia
No full textMillions of short-term, low-skilled women migrant workers from South-Asia to West-Asia experience exploitative and unsafe conditions. We review evidence from literature and interview 18 key informants to assess the exploitation migrant women face, and highlight the impacts of past interventions to determine their potential, and realised effectiveness, in reducing forced labour and trafficking. We find that women face varied precarious situations along the migration pathway, including interactions with recruiters in the home country, incurring debt, pre-departure formalities and training, withheld wages and mobility restrictions. We discuss varying degrees of success of mechanisms that aim to reduce vulnerability to forced labour
Gender-sensitive risks and options assessment for decision making (ROAD) to support WiF2
No full textThe Gender-Sensitive Risks and Options Assessment for Decision Making (ROAD) to Support WiF-2 (ROAD migration project), a partnership coordinated by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Australian National University, American University Beirut, Lincoln University, and University of Dhaka, evaluated the ILO-DFID Partnership Programme on Fair Recruitment and Decent Work for Women Migrant Workers in South Asia and the Middle East (Work in Freedom, Phase 2 project [WiF-2]), which operated from 2018 to 2023. The WiF-2 project specifically aimed “to reduce vulnerability to trafficking and forced labour of women and girls across migration pathways leading to the care sector and textiles, clothing, leather and footwear industries (TCLFI) of South Asia and Arab States” (ToC WiF-2). In this context, the International Labour Organization (ILO) describes three dimensions to forced labour: (i) unfree recruitment; (ii) work and life under duress; and (iii) impossibility to leave employer. Forced labour exists if any one of these dimensions exists. Exploitation relates to one or all of the following three elements: (i) restricting freedom of movement; (ii) economic exploitation; and (iii) violence or the threat of violence. Trafficking relates to migrants’ interactions with a network of individuals who organize the migration process, including brokers in origin countries and employment agencies, as well as employers in destination countries, with elements of deception, coercion, debt bondage, and slavery-like conditions. Trafficking also includes involuntary child labour. To address women and girl’s vulnerability to forced labour, exploitation, and trafficking, the WiF-2 program implemented pre-migration outreach interventions in countries of origin (Bangladesh, India, and Nepal). At the micro-level, this included training of a group of social workers who would engage women, girls, and other community members in countries of origin through door-to-door visits, community/courtyard meetings, and orientation events, and by providing referrals for vocational training
A multi-country validation and sensitivity analysis of the project level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (Pro-WEAI)
No full textWe discuss the evolution of the project-level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (pro-WEAI) from its initial launch in 2018 until early 2023. We explain the reasons motivating changes to the composition of pro-WEAI and the adequacy thresholds of several indicators and discuss the implications of both for the overall measurement of project impacts on women’s empowerment. We present supporting empirical results comparing projects’ impacts calculated using the abbreviated Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (A-WEAI) (the predecessor to pro-WEAI with fewer indicators and less stringent indicator cut-offs), the pilot 12-indicator version of pro-WEAI, and the final, revised 10-indicator version of pro-WEAI, based on longitudinal data from six agricultural development projects in East and West Africa and South Asia as part of the Gender, Agriculture, and Assets Project, Phase 2 (GAAP2). In addition, we assess the sensitivity of the revised pro-WEAI to an alternative weighting scheme, namely inverse covariance weighting (ICW). Overall, we find that the revised pro-WEAI performs well: In comparison to A-WEAI, pro-WEAI—regardless of version—identifies larger and more frequently significant impact estimates, indicating that pro-WEAI is more sensitive to detecting project impacts on women’s empowerment than A-WEAI. And we find only minor differences in impact estimates produced using the 12-indicator, 10-indicator, or alternate weighting scheme versions of pro-WEAI. We conclude with reflections on six years of work on pro-WEAI during GAAP2
