Gender and Inclusion
Gender, age, abilities and other individual or context-specific characteristics present different opportunities and challenges to provide CVA to people in crisis in a dignified manner.
Among humanitarian actors, there is an increasing acknowledgement of the specific needs and constraints of people of differing abilities, older people, people of different genders, particularly women, and people on the move. Alongside this is a growing appreciation of the need for tailored and sensitive measures that ensure their effective inclusion.
Supporting the needs of diverse people with CVA goes beyond making them a target group; it is about meaningful engagement, purposive design and implementation, and programme adjustment to meet different groups’ needs with dignity. Inclusive approaches go hand in hand with people-centred aid.
Current priorities
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 the needs of diverse people in safe and dignified manners.
We will work to elevate the experiences and initiatives on CVA and gender, disability inclusive CVA, working with different ethnicities and cultural identities, minority groups, people with diverse sexual identities, and age groups.
CALP will also strive to make its work as accessible as possible.
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
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Labour Market Analysis in Humanitarian Contexts. A practitioner’s guide
Guidelines and Tools
The world and the scale of complex crises are rapidly changing, thus calling for new tools and fresh approaches. This guide aims to help humanitarians conduct better labour market analyses (LMA) to inform the design and delivery of livelihoods and market strengthening programmes in emergency crisis and...
Intra-Household Dynamics and the Design of Social Protection Programs: The Case of Polygamous Households in North Burkina Faso
Case Study
A recent overview of World Bank social safety net programs and gender highlighted the need for greater consideration of intra-household dynamics in the design of social protection programs (Bardasi 2014). During program design, decisions have to be made about who to target, how much and how often to give...
Gender impact assessment of cash transfers support to vulnerable households in Sierra Leone
Report
This report outlines the findings and recommendations from a qualitative assessment carried out to complement and further develop the findings from a recently concluded quantitative study of SNAP+ in order to better understand the driving factors behind behavior during the Ebola crises. The quantitative...
Gender and Markets in West Africa – Secondary Data Review
Report
The secondary information and data review presented here covers all gender and markets assessments conducted by WFP in West Africa, and market assessments conducted by key partners in the region over the past 5 years. The quality of the compiled assessments is reviewed to identify data and information...
Can E-transfers Promote Financial Inclusion in Emergencies: A Case Study from Bangladesh
Report
The Electronic Cash Transfer Learning Action Network (ELAN) launched research to build an evidence base around connecting emergency electronic transfer (e-transfer) recipients with additional financial services. They wanted to learn if, when, and how e-transfers can promote sustained uptake and use...
Evaluation of the Kenya Hunger Safety Net Programme Phase 2
Report
The report summaries key findings from Hunger Safety Net Programme Phase 2 Qualitative impact study conducted in August 2016. The report integrates interesting infographics that depict the findings in an easy to read and understand format
IOM Cash-Based Transfer – Update and Case Studies
Report
Cash-based transfers have a long history in the support of people on the move. Cash or vouchers have been an element of the International Organization for Migration’s resettlement support for people moving to new countries, or returning to countries they had to leave. Increasingly over the last decade,...
Protection Outcomes in Cash-based Interventions: A Literature Review
Report
This literature review examines existing research to determine whether the use of cash and vouchers is contributing to the promotion of protection and gender outcomes for beneficiary communities, following the WFP and UNHCR 2013 study on gender, protection and cash. This literature review focuses on these...
Technical Guidelines: Conditional Cash for Rent
Guidelines and Tools
The guideline was prepared by UNHCR Shelter Working Group in Jordan with the objective of informing shelter sector partners of best practices for implementing conditional cash-for-rent assistance targeting Syrian refugees in the host communities. The guide explores how to define the scope of a cash...
State of Evidence on Humanitarian Cash Transfers
Policy paper
The “State of evidence on humanitarian cash transfers” background note provides a brief summary of the evidence base on humanitarian cash transfer programming. The report also outlines the types of evidence on cash transfers, findings on key issues and gaps. This publication is an output of the...
A Review of Evidence of Humanitarian Cash Transfer Programming in Urban Areas
Report
Urban poor populations frequently experience disasters of varying typology and intensity. When set against a backdrop of poverty and marginalisation, their needs can be complex. As recent urban crises have pushed humanitarian agencies to respond in urban areas, this literature review examines the...
A Review of Evidence of Humanitarian Cash Transfer Programming in Urban Areas: Annexes
Report
Annexes to accompany the working paper ‘A review of evidence
of humanitarian cash transfer programming in urban areas”
Guide for Protection in Cash based Interventions
Guidelines and Tools
This guide identifies minimum necessary information and key resources needed to help humanitarian practitioners ensure that protection risks and benefits are considered and monitored throughout the cash-based interventions (CBI) program cycle, using a community-based approach and participatory methods as...
Feasibility of cash transfer modalities in refugee settlements
Report
The main objective of this market assessment was to determine market functionality and the feasibility of cash transfer modality (and use of mobile money) among refugee settlements (Kyangwali, Kyaka II, Rwamwanja and Koboko) proposed for the cash transfer scale up in 2016. Survey households were randomly...
Integrating Gender throughout a Project’s Life cycle 2.0: A Guidance Document for International Development Organisations and Practitioners
Guidelines and Tools
The overarching premise of this document is that to conduct effective, responsible development work, incorporating gender at all stages of a project’s life cycle – from project design and proposal development to field implementation and monitoring, evaluation and learning – is critical. As such,...
Tips for Protection in Cash based interventions
Guidelines and Tools
This document presents a set of general tips to identify, monitor and mitigate protection risks and maximize protection benefits of cash-based interventions.
Kenya Drought Response Evaluation Report – Focus on Marsabit and Baringo Counties
Report
An evaluation of a drought response which involved school feeding, cash transfers and nutrition outreach activities.
Enhancing Food Security and Nutrition during the First 1000 Days through Gender-sensitive Social and Behavioural Change: A Technical Resource Guide
Guidelines and Tools
This technical resource guide is designed to build the capacity of development practitioners working in nutrition and food security to plan, implement, and evaluate gender-sensitive SBC programming in order to improve nutritional outcomes for pregnant and lactating women (PLW) and children under two. It...
Inclusive Cash for Work Programs: Building A Stronger, Safer Recovery for All
Report
In the aftermath of a disaster, cash-for-work programs are an essential component of relief and early recovery efforts. These programs must be designed and implemented in ways that take gender and protection considerations into account. They must be accessible to women, men and older girls and boys. When...
Integrating Cash Transfers into Gender-Based Violence Programs in Jordan: Benefits, risks and challenges
Report
With limited global practice and guidance on programming cash transfers to enhance protection in an emergency context, in 2013, the International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) started cash transfer programming (CTP) as part of the urban Women’s Protection and Empowerment (WPE) program in Jordan. Three...
