Gender Equality, Development,

and Effective Aid

Caren Grown
American University
June 5, 2014
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this paper/presentation are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank
(ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper and accepts no
responsibility for any consequence of their use. Terminology used may not necessarily be consistent with ADB official terms.
Outline
Introduction and motivation
Donor rationales/approaches/financing
What works and what could work
Recommendations for making aid more
effective
Aid Effectiveness
Aidscape has witnessed a paradigm shift in last decade
Growing pressure on donors and recipient
governments to demonstrate effectiveness of aid
Criticisms on the impact of aid on economic
development
analysts and activists on both sides
Three analytical camps: aid works; does not work; works
conditionally
Murky empirical evidence at the macro level; more
encouraging at the micro level (micro-macro paradox)

Aid and Gender Equality
investing in women is not only the right thing
to do. It is the smart thing to do. I am deeply
convinced that, in women, the world has at its
disposal, the most significant and yet largely
untapped potential for development and peace.

Ban Ki Moon, UN Secretary General, 8 March 2008
Motivation for Donor Investments in
Gender Equality
FAO





World Bank
Gender Equality Economic Growth
Donor Approaches
A twin-track approach
Women-focused projects/interventions
Gender Mainstreaming, notably in
Health
Education
Microfinance
Agriculture (to a lesser extent)
Governance (to a lesser extent except in fragile states)


Gender-Focused Aid as a Share of Total Aid,
Constant 2011 US$
Overall Donors Commitment Gender Equality and
Women's Empowerment (Millions in Constant 2011 US$)
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Transport & Storage, Communications Energy Banking & Financial Services
Agriculture Industry Mineral Resources & Mining Trade Policies & Regulations
Gender-focused aid by economic and productive
sector (millions in constant 2011 US$)

Evidence for Aid Effectiveness and
Gender Equality: Macro Studies
Aid generally has a positive (but modest) impact
on gender equality.
Is aid for gender equality need-based or
performance based?
Dreher et al. (2013): Gender gaps in education and
health affect the allocation of aid overall and in the
relevant sectors.


What works and could work?
(No one size fits all)
Education
Conditional cash transfers
Scholarships for girls




Health
Maternal mortality: skilled
attendants, emergency,
obstetric care, functional
referral system
Reproductive Health:
contraceptives; sexuality
education, safe abortion
services

What works and could work, cont.
Economic
Microcredit/microenterprise
Mixed effects at level of
individual (hh decision-
making) and enterprise
(profits, growth)
Microsavings is most
promising
Wage Employment
Asset Transfers
Political
Quotas/reservations for
entry
Gender-budgeting
What works and could work, cont.
Preventing/responding to
Gender-Based Violence
Prevention: Womens
advocacy; community-
based interventions; male
leader campaigns
Response: One stop shops
that combine multi-sectoral
interventions (judicial and
health)
Community-based
interventions



In Fragile States
Conflict prevention: early
warning
Post-conflict:
Organizing/training for
participation in donor
conferences
Interventions for political
participation
Livelihood programs
Lessons Learned: Gender
Mainstreaming
Focus on outcomes/results
Leadership and political commitment
Technical capacity and more sophisticated diagnostics
Incentives embedded in an institutions standard
business practices
Resources
Estimating costs
Accountability
Data collection, performance monitoring, impact
evaluation