This paper presents the findings from a research project on the Social Protection Index (SPI) that assesses the extent to which gender has been incorporated in social protection programs. The SPI is a measure of central government social protection expenditures relative to all potential beneficiaries assessed against poverty line expenditures in a country. Important evidence of social protection activities was collected: (i) statistical data and indicators, such as expenditure, coverage, and distribution (SPI database); and a (ii) comprehensive review of country social protection programs and policies.
The paper argues that gender plays an important role in addressing social risks and inequalities and ensuring the effectiveness of the social protection programs and policies. There is a need to address connections between the gendered nature of poverty, vulnerability, and social protection program design and implementation to increase the effectiveness of social protection policy and strengthen the institutional features of social protection systems.
Key findings:
- In general, women in most countries of Asia and the Pacific are in a relatively disadvantaged position with regard to receiving social protection benefits. Women are not as likely as men to work in the formal economy. Thus, they are not as likely as men to have direct access to pension programs.
- The initial steps in moving toward gender equality in social protection entail the need to accelerate women’s access to the formal economy by increasing opportunities and upgrading skills for women engaged in economic activities. Also, women are less likely to have access to most forms of health insurance that are based on formal employment, which is often the necessary condition for implementing a contributory scheme. Such a disadvantage would not apply, of course, in countries where health insurance is universal.
- Since gender inequality is often tied to structural conditions, such as the lack of access of women to formal well-paid employment, policy makers in Asia and the Pacific are most likely to make significant inroads in reducing such inequality when they begin to universalize social insurance benefits, such as health insurance and pensions. Providing women with greater access to employment guarantee schemes or skills development and training could also help.
- Women appear to benefit almost as much as men from social assistance, although it seems that in most instances men perform slightly better. Since social assistance benefits, in aggregate, are much smaller than those for social insurance, any slight advantage that women might enjoy with regard to social assistance does not overcome their general disadvantage. It is likely to be easier to broaden the access of women to social assistance, since this form of social protection is not tied to employment status. Social assistance’s share of total social protection expenditures, however, is much smaller than that of social insurance. Directing more social assistance benefits to women, such as through cash transfer programs, might be a worthwhile option. Increasing the expenditures of universal social assistance programs, such as assistance to children or the elderly, is more likely to have a broader and more significant overall impact on reducing gender inequality in social protection.
- Since labour market programs tend to be quite small in most countries, they would only have a negligible impact on promoting gender equity—even if they favored women. Where such programs are sizable, the impact is more likely, instead, to have an inequitable impact. This is particularly the case, for example, for infrastructure projects or even for skills development and training.
- Policy makers might benefit from studying more closely the gender-related impact of large cash- or food-for-work programs, particularly those implemented in South Asia, and the efficacy of skills development and training programs. The collection, analysis, and dissemination of sex-disaggregated data are essential to ensure gender considerations in designing, implementing, and monitoring social protection programs. Governments should be encouraged to support monitoring of social protection programs through regular household income and expenditure surveys. Furthermore, independent impact evaluations of social protection programs, including monitoring gender impact, are critical for developing informed policies.
