Leaving no one behind: Access to social protection for all migrant women

Date: Monday, January 20, 2020

Social protection is a universal human right and a key element of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. While this right unequivocally applies to migrants, irrespective of migration status, migrant women in particular often remain excluded. Against this backdrop, this policy brief discusses the barriers that migrant women face in accessing social protection and provides recommendations for States to meet their obligation to overcome these, particularly in relation to health care, maternity protection and essential services for victims and survivors of violence.

The big conversation: Handbook to address violence against women in and through the media

Date: Thursday, December 5, 2019

Modern day society is surrounded by media (television, film, radio, print and social media); consuming information, entertainment and ever-increasing channels of communication. These platforms, and the content they deliver, present both unrelenting challenges and incredible opportunities for achieving gender equality and eliminating violence against women and girls. This handbook is designed to provide specific guidance on how to work with media for the achievement of these goals.

Transnational families, care arrangements and the state in Costa Rica and Nicaragua

Date: Thursday, December 5, 2019

This paper concerns the implications of migration within Central America for family life. Focusing on the case of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, it shows how Nicaraguan families develop strategies based on a history of informal and flexible caregiving. While these informal strategies allow families to navigate the challenges migration and family separation entail, they also contribute to continued vulnerability and reinforce the gendered burdens of caregiving within transnational families.

Enabling environment in action: Flexible working arrangements and inclusive engagement

Date: Monday, December 2, 2019

This report provides a summary of the 2019 Global Annual Meeting of Gender Focal Points and Focal Points for Women in the United Nations, organized in September 2019. It includes conclusions from the sessions and action points for accelerating gender parity efforts and implementing an enabling environment across the UN system. The report concludes with remarks by the UN Women Executive Director and recognition of good examples of implementing the “Enabling environment guidelines”.

Family-oriented cash transfers from a gender perspective: Are conditionalities justified?

Date: Thursday, November 21, 2019

This brief reviews a decade of feminist research on conditional cash transfers that has raised serious questions about the assumptions that underpin the use of conditionalities and their impact on poor women’s lives. It highlights concerns about the detrimental effects that conditionalities may have in contexts where quality public services are lacking and where multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination mean that well-intended programme requirements easily slip into coercive and disempowering implementation practices.

The effect of cash-based interventions on gender outcomes in development and humanitarian settings

Date: Tuesday, November 12, 2019

This discussion paper begins by presenting an overview of the latest research on cash transfers, gender protection, and empowerment outcomes. It continues by discussing some of the programme design features to consider when seeking to improve gender outcomes. Finally, the paper concludes with a set of research questions that can help shape future research and practice in this area.

Fiscal space for social protection: A handbook for assessing financing options

Date: Thursday, October 31, 2019

This handbook provides practical guidance, elaborated with case studies, on how additional fiscal space can be created for a universal social protection system. The analyses should help governments on how they can increase spending on priority sectors for women, children, and vulnerable groups.

TRANSFORM – The magazine for gender-responsive evaluation – Issue 17, October 2019

Date: Wednesday, October 30, 2019

This issue of TRANSFORM summarizes the corporate evaluation of UN Women’s contribution to humanitarian action as part of its Corporate Evaluation Plan. The evaluation assessed the relevance, appropriateness, effectiveness, efficiency, connectedness, and sustainability of UN Women’s approach to humanitarian action at global, regional, and country levels. The evaluation’s scope was from 2014 to the present, with a brief review of work conducted from 2011 to 2013.

TRANSFORM – The magazine for gender-responsive evaluation – Issue 16, September 2019

Date: Monday, September 30, 2019

This issue of TRANSFORM focuses on the meta-synthesis of UN Women evaluations completed during 2017 and 2018. The meta-synthesis reviewed and aggregated insights from 39 evaluation reports against selected development and organizational effectiveness and efficiency criteria. The issue also discusses internal and external enablers that drive or impede progress towards the achievement of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Leveraging digital finance for gender equality and women’s empowerment

Date: Tuesday, September 24, 2019

This working paper provides a basis to review the barriers, risks, and opportunities related to gender and the accessibility and utilization of digital finance, and to help identify pathways that could be leveraged for potential impactful investment returns for women.