Gender and Inclusion
There is an increasing demand from stakeholders that, as CVA continues its rapid growth, it should take greater account of gender and inclusion issues because, ‘Gender-responsive CVA which recognizes existing disparities and addresses the needs of all crisis-affected people equally, has the potential to positively impact women and girls by improving their protection and promoting their empowerment, while also strengthening sector-specific impacts which can lead to more resilient and empowered households and communities in recovery from crises.’ (Guidelines for Grand Bargain Cash and Gender Workstream). The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the urgency for action as it has affected women and excluded groups more severely through increasing care-giving, reducing employment opportunities disproportionately, exposing women to greater financial hardship and increased gender based violence.
The CALP Network continues to build on the 2018, our #GenderCash Symposium in Nairobi and the commitment enshrined in the Agenda for Collective Action that resulted. The SOWC 2020 report found notable progress in work on gender and CVA, identified as a critical evidence gap in the last report: new guidelines have been produced on gender and CVA and gender and GBV and efforts have focused attention on synthesising and identifying more robust evidence. The initial focus on GBV is now shifting towards gender equality and to better programming that can move beyond gender sensitivity towards becoming gender responsive – and even gender transformative. However, while we see progress globally at the technical level, this has not yet translated into consistent changes in planning, implementation and monitoring.
Current priorities
We will continue to work closely with the Grand Bargain Cash sub-workstream leads, CARE and UN Women, to help deliver the sub-workstream workplan. The CALP Network will continue to encourage cash actors to widen their focus to be more inclusive, and champion a fuller understanding of how CVA can go beyond the notion of ‘do no harm’ towards appropriately addressing these socio-economic inequalities through the provision of other services and support.
Featured content
Collected Papers on Gender and Cash Transfer Programmes in Humanitarian Contexts
Report
Existing gender inequalities mean that disasters and conflicts impact women, men, girls and boys differently. Cash based assistance is one of the most significant developments in humanitarian assistance in recent years. But the relationship between gender and cash based assistance in humanitarian contexts is poorly understood. All too often, interventions are designed based on assumptions...
Microlearning video: CVA and Gender
Blog Post
This video provides an overview of the relationship between gender and cash and voucher assistance (CVA) structured around the humanitarian project cycle, which include: Assessment and response analysis: How to adjust the assessment processes to achieve a more accurate reflection of gender and markets. Design and implementation: How to use methods and protocols to reduce the potential...
Better Gender Outcomes in Food Assistance through Complementary and Multi-Modal Programing: Promising Practices Tip Sheet
Guidelines and Tools
This Tip Sheet is excerpted from the research report, “Better Gender Outcomes in Food Assistance through Complementary and Multi-Modal programming,” and gives promising practices by the cycles of project cycle management, as well as at the response level. Additionally, there are expert tips and wisdom practices that support the use of a gendered approach in development or humanitarian...
Cash & Voucher Assistance and Gender-Based Violence Compendium
Guidelines and Tools
The Compendium is intended as a companion to the 2015 Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines for Integrating Gender-Based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Action and its companion resource, the GBV Pocket Guide. The guidance was developed through the efforts of 15 organizations who contributed expertise in the inception, design and review of the document. The process was led...
A Gendered Analysis on Cash for Work Programming in Lahj Governorate
Case Study
Cash for Work (CFW) programmes are designed to help the most vulnerable people meet their essential and basic needs. In Yemen, CFW interventions are responding to an ever-growing proportion of the Yemeni population that are in need of humanitarian assistance. Working with communities in the targeted areas of Hudayda and Lahj, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency SIDA-funded...
How to Promote Gender Equality in Humanitarian Cash and Voucher Assistance
Guidelines and Tools
The use of cash and voucher assistance (CVA) in humanitarian action is increasing rapidly.
With this rise, there is also growing demand by stakeholders to ensure CVA is more gender-responsive, addressing gender gaps and moving towards greater gender equality.
Gender-responsive CVA, which recognizes existing disparities and addresses the needs of all crisis-affected people equally, has the...
Gender-Sensitive Cash and Voucher Assistance: Guidance to ensure the approach in the field
Guidelines and Tools
This guidance builds on CARE’s ambition-via practice, research, evidence on CVA–and aims to support the application of gender sensitive CVA throughout the project cycle and at the response level. It is divided into two sections: – Part A: ‘What has been learned about gender sensitive CVA?,’ briefly explains the recommendations that came from the research. – Part B: ‘How do we...
Enablers and Gaps: Gender Equality, Gender-Based Violence Response and Mitigation in Cash and Voucher Assistance at Response levels: analysis on three case studies
Report
The Gender and Cash Sub-Workstream identified three case studies that illustrate how Cash Working Groups, GBV Sub-Clusters, gender focal points (e.g. Gender in Humanitarian Action Working groups at country and regional level) and humanitarian partnerships can enable meaningful and wider engagement on gender equity and GBV response in CVA. The case studies all show different aspects of linking...
How to mitigate gender-based violence (GBV) risks in cash and voucher assistance (CVA)
Video
Cash and voucher assistance (CVA) is an important tool to help individuals affected by crises get back on their feet. But just like any other form of assistance, it is vital to ensure that it does not fuel tensions in the household or in the community and that it does not create new risks for women and girls. Fortunately, there are a variety of ways that cash actors can work to mitigate risks...
Inclusive Information Systems for Social Protection: Intentionally Integrating Gender and Disability
Policy paper
Digital information systems serving the social protection sector, and especially social assistance, are increasingly prominent and will continue to be, as is the case within all other sectors. “Why? Because the ability of a country to care for its people and respond to their lifecycle needs depends on its ability to identify those who are in need, enroll them, provide tailored benefits and...
Mainstreaming disability inclusion into humanitarian CVA
Presentation
What is a rights-based approach to disability? How can disability inclusion be mainstreamed to ensure more inclusive and effective CVA humanitarian responses? To answer these key questions, CALP, CBM Global, European Disability Forum and International Organization for Migration (IOM), came together to organize the webinar “Mainstreaming disability inclusion into humanitarian CVA”, with the...
Disability Inclusive Cash Assistance: Learnings from Practice in Humanitarian Response
Guidelines and Tools
This case study collection describes lessons learned from seven inclusive humanitarian cash transfer projects implemented from 2015 – 2020 in Niger, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Philippines, and Indonesia, and five ongoing projects from the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic responses. This good practice collection aims to benefit both humanitarian practitioners engaged in Cash Based Interventions...
Cash and beyond – Analysis of extra costs associated with disabilities and disability-specific social protection in Ukraine, in the aftermath of the Russian invasion
Report
Following the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022 and the consequent humanitarian crisis, the country has experienced active fighting and massive displacement, both within and outside its borders. Persons with disabilities and older persons have been facing particularly harsh effects, especially for those with more severe forms of disabilities, who encountered challenges in...
Thematic lead
Latest
Ensuring Inclusive Cash and Voucher Programming in Vanuatu
Report
Save the Children is expanding its cash and voucher programming in Vanuatu; helping families to overcome financial barriers to improve outcomes for their children and advocating for investments in a national social protection system.
This report presents the findings of a Gender Equality, Disability...
Ensuring Inclusive Cash and Voucher Programming in Solomon Islands
Report
Save the Children is expanding its cash and voucher programming in Solomon Islands; helping families to overcome financial barriers to improve outcomes for their children and advocating for investments in a national social protection system.
This report presents the findings of a Gender Equality,...
Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) Analysis: Rapid review to inform cash programming in Solomon Islands and Vanuatu
Report
There is compelling global evidence that, on average, cash transfers reduce monetary poverty, raise school attendance and use of health services, reduce child labour and increase women’s decision-making power and choices. Cash programming though, is relatively new in Pacific Island Countries (PICs) and...
Feasibility study on CVA in Tigray Region, Ethiopia_October 2023
Report
The two years of conflict in Tigray has fueled a large-scale humanitarian crisis and resulted in loss of livelihoods and widespread food insecurity of the population especially Internally Displaced Populations and agrarian communities in the region.
The crisis affected the livelihoods of the...
WVI Cash Roadmap 2.0 – New Avenues – Leveraging, multiplying “Nexus” cash to take children and their families further than imagined
Policy paper
WVI's strategic global Cash Roadmap 2.0 (2024-2027) speaks to the organisations' commitment that amidst polycrises and resourcing constraints, there is urgency to maximise and multiply World Vision's capabilities, assets and cash voucher programming (CVP=CVA) is a powerful tool to do so.
Increasing...
Gender-Transformative Social Protection in Crisis Contexts: Guidance note
Guidelines and Tools
This guidance note is produced under the Social Protection Technical Assistance (STAAR) facility which is funded by FCDO and implemented by DAI Global UK. It was commissioned by GiZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to advance the international...
Exploring GBV Risk Mitigation in Iraq and Colombia
Case Study
In 2022, UNFPA and the Global Women’s Institute (GWI) at George Washington University undertook operational research in Iraq and Colombia with the goal of developing proxy indicators for mitigating GBV risk to women who receive cash assistance. Proxy indicators for detecting GBV risks to women in cash...
Building Capital in Crisis: How women in CARE’s VSLAs in Emergencies increase savings and solidarity
Report
Since 2017, CARE has piloted and refined our VSLA in Emergencies model to reach people in need of humanitarian assistance and provide an approach that can reduce long term vulnerability while being more sustainable. In this second report on our pilot research, we provide insights from three pilots in...
Humanitarian Cash Transfers and Intimate Partner Violence in South Sudan
Case Study
Cash-based programming, an intervention commonly provided to people affected by humanitarian crisis, has the potential to affect IPV positively or negatively. This study, however, found no evidence that this cash-based project had any significant effect on IPV. However, the relationship between cash...
“Men have the power to say everything, women don’t.” Women’s perceptions of cash and voucher assistance in Maiduguri’s outskirts
Case Study
In northeast Nigeria, women and girls constitute approximately two-thirds of cash and voucher assistance (CVA) recipients. However, stark gender inequalities in the region make it difficult to hear women’s perspectives. This study aims to amplify their voices and concerns to inform decision-making...
Impact Evaluation of Cash-Based Transfers and Gender in Kenya: Inception report
Guidelines and Tools
Gender inequality in economic autonomy is pervasive, particularly in developing countries, and its potential welfare implications are concerning. The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report for 2022 ranks Kenya as 57th for the Gender Gap on Economic participation, and an opportunity index...
Onward Bound: Evaluating Cash and Voucher Assistance for Migrants on Sahel’s Migration Trail – Research and learnings from the Sahel region
Report
This research – a collaboration between the British Red Cross and Samuel Hall – provides evidence on the opportunities and challenges to integrate cash and vouchers assistance (CVA) as a support modality in migration programming in the context of transit migration in the Sahel. While CVA has become...
Saving Lives and Assets: The value of nexus “Cash” approaches to Anticipatory Action and Social Protection during climate-induced crises
Report
As a follow-on reflection from an inter-agency panel presentation at the ECHO EHF 2023, panelists highlight the importance of drastically changing “gear” to scale up pre-crisis Anticipatory Action investment, leveraging the “nexus” enabler – cash. Humanitarian needs have reached an unprecedented...
An Integrated Approach to Menstrual Hygiene Management: Awareness sessions and cash assistance for women and girls affected by crisis in Lebanon
Case Study
In 2022, UNFPA Lebanon worked with local partners to launch an integrated cash and awareness for menstrual hygiene management (MHM) initiative as a way to tackle the growing issue of period poverty amidst the country’s economic crisis. Through the pilot, over 2,600 vulnerable women and girls of...
Mainstreaming disability inclusion into humanitarian CVA
Presentation
What is a rights-based approach to disability? How can disability inclusion be mainstreamed to ensure more inclusive and effective CVA humanitarian responses? To answer these key questions, CALP, CBM Global, European Disability Forum and International Organization for Migration (IOM), came together to...
Microlearning video: CVA and Gender
Blog Post
This video provides an overview of the relationship between gender and cash and voucher assistance (CVA) structured around the humanitarian project cycle, which include: Assessment and response analysis: How to adjust the assessment processes to achieve a more accurate reflection of gender and...
Presentation: Module about Cash and Voucher Assistance & Gender
Presentation
This slide presentation is part of CALP Network’s microlearning video, produced in collaboration with CARE. This micro-learning module provides an overview of the relationship between gender and cash and voucher assistance (CVA) organized around the humanitarian project cycle, and is part of UN...
Monthly factsheet of the Cash for Protection Taskforce (C4PTF) for the Ukraine Response
Report
This Factsheet is produced on a monthly basis for Protection and Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) specialists who are considering, planning for, or already using CVA integrated into protection programming to support protection outcomes for individuals and households inside and outside of Ukraine. Key...
Cash actors have the power to mitigate GBV – here are six ways to do it
Blog Post
Cash actors play an important role in providing assistance that helps to save lives and increases resilience. But it’s also our responsibility to carefully consider any possible Gender-Based Violence (GBV) risks that cash and voucher assistance (CVA) could create for women* who receive it. While there...
Cash and beyond – Analysis of extra costs associated with disabilities and disability-specific social protection in Ukraine, in the aftermath of the Russian invasion
Report
Following the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022 and the consequent humanitarian crisis, the country has experienced active fighting and massive displacement, both within and outside its borders. Persons with disabilities and older persons have been facing particularly harsh effects,...
