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...
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 it is important that cash transfers are designed and delivered appropriately for the...
Thematic lead
Latest
Addressing Vulnerability? Cash Transfer Programming and Protection Outcomes for Out-of-Camp Syrian Refugees: An analysis of the Danish Refugee Council’s e-card programming in southern Turkey
Case Study
This report explores key issues concerning vulnerability, targeting, and protection in cash transfer programming (CTP) by analyzing a Danish Refuge Council (DRC) project in southern Turkey. It is based on an ongoing “action research” collaboration between DRC and the Feinstein International Center...
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...
Rapid Humanitarian Assessment in Urban Settings
Guidelines and Tools
This Technical Brief is intended to be a starting point for improving coordinated needs assessments in urban areas, without which the humanitarian community will not be able to ensure the quality and accountability of urban response itself. It provides guidance on carrying out joint rapid assessments of...
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
Case Study
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...
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...
Violence Against Women and Cash Transfers in Humanitarian Contexts
Policy paper
This report addresses the known impacts of cash programmes on the incidence of violence against women in humanitarian contexts. Query: Known impacts of cash programmes on the incidence and effects of VAWG in humanitarian contexts What is the evidence base for this work in emergency settings? What is the...
The Impact of Cash Transfer Programmes on Protection Outcomes in Afghanistan
Report
Although cash-based interventions (CBIs) are increasingly used to deliver humanitarian assistance in support of more traditional in-kind emergency distributions, there is now a growing, global acceptance among stakeholders of the need to pay closer attention to the positive and negative impact of CBIs on...
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...
2015 State of the Industry Report. Mobile Money
Report
Mobile money is reaching more than 411 million people globally. Moreover, it is available in 85% of countries where the vast majority of the population lacks access to a formal financial institution. This is an extraordinary achievement, demonstrating the power of mobile, underpinned by the critical...
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...
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...
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,...
An Impact Evaluation of the 2013-2014 Winter Cash Assistance Program for Syrian Refugees in Lebanon
Report
This report describes the impacts of the winter cash transfer program run by UNHCR and partners from November 2013 to April 2014. The program gave 575 USD via ATM cards to 87,700 registered Syrian refugees in Lebanon with the objective of keeping people warm and dry during cold winter months.
Cash for Work Programmes Standard Operating Procedures – Lebanon
Guidelines and Tools
The document intends to define the roles of responsibilities of all the actors involved in the Cash for Work activities being developed by Action Contre la Faim (ACF) and its partners in Lebanon.
Household Response to Income Changes: Evidence from an unconditional cash transfer program in Kenya
Case Study
This paper studies the response of poor rural households in rural Kenya to large temporary income changes. Using a randomized controlled trial, households were randomly assigned to receive unconditional cash transfers of at least USD 404 from the NGO GiveDirectly. We designed the experiment to address...
A Double-edged Sword: Livelihoods in emergencies guidance and tools for improved programming
Guidelines and Tools
This document aims to help economic development practitioners who design economic strengthening projects with the particular aim of improving child wellbeing and for others whose aim is poverty alleviation more broadly. The guidance presented is based on the understanding that: 1. Household economic...