Gender Equality
Barriers and supports to reducing early child bearing among newly married adolescent girls in Zinder region: A qualitative study
CARE carried out formative research to understand the underlying gender and social norms, barriers to and facilitators for delaying early child birth among married/soon-to-be-married adolescent girls in Zinder region, from the perspective of multiple gatekeepers in the lives of married/soon-to-be-married adolescent girls. Read More...
Adolescent Motherhood: Understanding Individual and Community Perspectives to Delay First Birth in Rural Bangladesh
Globally, more than one third of girls marry before the age of 15. In Bangladesh, like in other developing countries, adolescent marriage is still very common. Early marriage leads to early pregnancy, as young wives are not allowed to make their own decisions about contraceptive use and timing of childbirth, deferring instead to their husbands and extended family. The major objectives of this formative research were to explore the intentions, desires, perspectives, motivators, and de‐motivators around the first pregnancy among married adolescent girls (MAGs). The study also explored ways to delay first pregnancies among MAGs, focusing on influential people in their lives, health providers, and positive deviants. Additionally, we examined alternative opportunities and barriers to delay first pregnancy through pursuit of an alternative life course and the use of modern contraceptives. The findings will be used to design an appropriate intervention for rural Bangladesh. Read More...
IMAGINE Baseline Analysis Report
CARE has partnered with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to implement IMAGINE, a project that examines how to support married adolescent girls and their families. The project aims at helping young women in Niger and Bangladesh to delay their first birth and to envision, value, and pursue alternative life trajectories. IMAGINE’s goal is two-fold: to identify, design, and test interventions that hold promise for delaying the timing of first birth among married adolescents and to document and share learning from this initiative with the wider development community to inform others working to address the issue of adolescent childbearing. IMAGINE is multifaceted, with components that enable married adolescent girls to delay first birth and to afford greater choice in pursuing an alternative life course. Read More...
COVID 19 Rapid Gender Analysis Global Trends June 2020
In the three months since CARE released its first Rapid Gender Analysis of COVID-19, the situation has evolved quickly and spread globally. CARE has continued to closely monitor this situation, by conducting context-specific analyses in 5 regions covering 64 countries. This has included conversations and data collection with more than 4,500 women.
This new analysis confirms the initial findings and predictions of the first analysis. It also reveals new areas of high priority for women and girls—and for men and boys—as the crisis deepens. Our recent research reveals:
• The highest immediate priorities 3 months into the crisis are food, income, and rights—including concerns around Gender Based Violence, caregiving burdens, and mobility. Women and girls show these needs most acutely, but they also rise to the top of men and boys’ priorities in COVID-19.
• Women’s burdens are increasing. As frontline workers in the health system, as survivors of Gender Based Violence, as the people primarily responsible for food, cleaning, and childcare—especially with schools closed, women confirm that their burdens are rising, and so is the stress around them.
• Women are displaying remarkable leadership, but are still unable to access most decision-making, around COVID-19 and around daily life. They are also quickly approaching the end of their safety nets.
In this context, this document provides updated recommendations to focus on lessening the immediate impact on women and providing the chance to build back equal. These recommendations cluster around:
• Urgently addressing top priorities of food, income, and rights by expanding safety nets—both in the immediate response and in long-term ways for all people to provide their own food and livelihoods.
• Reducing women’s burdens by providing extra support for caregiving, services for GBV prevention and response, and investing in women healthcare workers.
• Prioritizing women’s leadership by creating space for women leaders at all levels of the response, and consistently listening to women’s perspectives and data as the crisis evolves.
Read More...
This new analysis confirms the initial findings and predictions of the first analysis. It also reveals new areas of high priority for women and girls—and for men and boys—as the crisis deepens. Our recent research reveals:
• The highest immediate priorities 3 months into the crisis are food, income, and rights—including concerns around Gender Based Violence, caregiving burdens, and mobility. Women and girls show these needs most acutely, but they also rise to the top of men and boys’ priorities in COVID-19.
• Women’s burdens are increasing. As frontline workers in the health system, as survivors of Gender Based Violence, as the people primarily responsible for food, cleaning, and childcare—especially with schools closed, women confirm that their burdens are rising, and so is the stress around them.
• Women are displaying remarkable leadership, but are still unable to access most decision-making, around COVID-19 and around daily life. They are also quickly approaching the end of their safety nets.
In this context, this document provides updated recommendations to focus on lessening the immediate impact on women and providing the chance to build back equal. These recommendations cluster around:
• Urgently addressing top priorities of food, income, and rights by expanding safety nets—both in the immediate response and in long-term ways for all people to provide their own food and livelihoods.
• Reducing women’s burdens by providing extra support for caregiving, services for GBV prevention and response, and investing in women healthcare workers.
• Prioritizing women’s leadership by creating space for women leaders at all levels of the response, and consistently listening to women’s perspectives and data as the crisis evolves.
Read More...
Indonesia Rapid Gender Assessment in Response to COVID-19
Following the first reported COVID-19 case in Indonesia, Yayasan CARE Peduli (YCP) had immediately started to prepare its response package to support communities in areas where it operates. Given the mobility restriction, it had been quite challenging to prepare the response package particularly in preceding the response with much more detailed field-based needs assessment. This Rapid Gender Assessment (RGA) was prepared almost simultaneously with the delivery of the first stage of the response. While it has been limited in its use for the first stage response, it is intended to guide YCP’s next stage of response which will be aimed at mitigating the social economic impact of COVID-19, emphasizing the needs of women and access to the support. This RGA will serve as the basis for further in-depth study or assessment to support detailed design of the support schemes and other assessments that other development partners are planning to undertake.
Information on the local situation and needs were gathered from the projects’ database and information from the local governments and partners. Therefore, the first stage of YCP’s response consist of preventive and protective measures from the virus transmission which was aimed at the communities in general.
Specifically, the RGA has the following objectives:
1. To analyze the impact of COVID-19 and the needs of the communities especially the vulnerable groups such as women and children, the elderlies, people with disabilities and other vulnerabilities;
2. To inform the design of COVID-19 response based on the identified needs of the different groups, focusing on: (i) paid and unpaid productive works; (ii) gender relations and decision-making process; (iii) basic services; (iv) safety and security with respect to gender-based violence; (v) influence of faith and religion; (vi) access to information and technology; (vii) WASH and livelihood; and (viii) child protection and education. Read More...
Information on the local situation and needs were gathered from the projects’ database and information from the local governments and partners. Therefore, the first stage of YCP’s response consist of preventive and protective measures from the virus transmission which was aimed at the communities in general.
Specifically, the RGA has the following objectives:
1. To analyze the impact of COVID-19 and the needs of the communities especially the vulnerable groups such as women and children, the elderlies, people with disabilities and other vulnerabilities;
2. To inform the design of COVID-19 response based on the identified needs of the different groups, focusing on: (i) paid and unpaid productive works; (ii) gender relations and decision-making process; (iii) basic services; (iv) safety and security with respect to gender-based violence; (v) influence of faith and religion; (vi) access to information and technology; (vii) WASH and livelihood; and (viii) child protection and education. Read More...
Iraq COVID 19 Rapid Gender Analysis
As of June 2020, Iraq is experiencing drastic increase in the number of people who contracted COVID-19 compared to the preceding months. With the everchanging context of COVID-19, women, girls, men and boys in Iraq have been affected differently; and they developed different coping mechanisms. Furthermore, their roles within households have been directly impacted by the crisis, and their participation and access to services also have reflected the gendered dynamics of the COVID-19. There has been an increase in the protection and gender-based violence risks identified and reported, and women and girls are disproportionately affected by these risks. Read More...
Vietnam Rapid Gender Analysis May 2020
Vietnam reported its first known case of COVID-19 on 23 January 2020. As of 19 May, the country had 324 confirmed cases, with 263 recoveries and no deaths.
In Vietnam, COVID-19 presents a range of contextual challenges including high numbers of migrant workers, high numbers of employees in the garment industry, many people working in the informal sector, and linguistically and culturally diverse ethnic minorities. The impacts of COVID-19 on vulnerable groups, such as migrant workers, informal workers, garment factory workers, and ethnic minorities are further marginalising these groups, exacerbating poverty and inequality and increasing their exposure to other social, economic and protection risks.
Women in Vietnam have historically been underrepresented in public decision-making processes, a trend that is reflected in high-level decision-making structures on COVID-19. This means that even as women are disproportionately affected by the crisis, they have less say in how their country should respond to it. Read More...
In Vietnam, COVID-19 presents a range of contextual challenges including high numbers of migrant workers, high numbers of employees in the garment industry, many people working in the informal sector, and linguistically and culturally diverse ethnic minorities. The impacts of COVID-19 on vulnerable groups, such as migrant workers, informal workers, garment factory workers, and ethnic minorities are further marginalising these groups, exacerbating poverty and inequality and increasing their exposure to other social, economic and protection risks.
Women in Vietnam have historically been underrepresented in public decision-making processes, a trend that is reflected in high-level decision-making structures on COVID-19. This means that even as women are disproportionately affected by the crisis, they have less say in how their country should respond to it. Read More...
Myanmar COVID 19 Rapid Gender Analysis
As of 7 June 2020, there have been 228 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Myanmar,1 and new cases continue to be confirmed.2 Myanmar’s humanitarian and conflict dynamics, high poverty rate, flow of returning migrants, high numbers of internally displaced people and urban slum-dwellers, and high proportion of workers in the informal sector present a range of challenges in the context of COVID-19. These factors tend to make prevention and control measures more difficult, while also intensifying the potential impacts of a larger outbreak, if it were to occur.
Despite the relatively low number of verified cases within its borders to date, the pandemic has already had an outsized economic impact in Myanmar. Migrant workers, informal sector workers including sex workers, and garment sector workers have all been disproportionately affected. Women in Myanmar have traditionally been under-represented in public decision-making processes, a trend which is continuing in structures established to respond to COVID-19. This means that even as women are disproportionately affected by the crisis, they have less say in how their communities and country respond to it, increasing the risk of a COVID-19 response that does not adequately address the needs and priorities of the most vulnerable women and girls. Read More...
Despite the relatively low number of verified cases within its borders to date, the pandemic has already had an outsized economic impact in Myanmar. Migrant workers, informal sector workers including sex workers, and garment sector workers have all been disproportionately affected. Women in Myanmar have traditionally been under-represented in public decision-making processes, a trend which is continuing in structures established to respond to COVID-19. This means that even as women are disproportionately affected by the crisis, they have less say in how their communities and country respond to it, increasing the risk of a COVID-19 response that does not adequately address the needs and priorities of the most vulnerable women and girls. Read More...
Rapid Gender Analysis – Middle East North Africa (MENA)
The COVID-19 pandemic and efforts at mitigating the virus’ spread in recent months have heightened the insecurity, psychosocial distress, economic vulnerability, gender inequality, and deprivation that already existed in countries in the Middle East and beyond. While men appear to have worse outcomes when infected with the coronavirus, women and girls are being deeply impacted– and fragile gains in women’s workforce participation are in jeopardy.
Refugees and the displaced, the majority of them located in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, are now faced with the COVID-19 pandemic and economically damaging efforts at its mitigation. Fragile gains in women’s workforce participation are at risk, gender-based violence is on the rise, and women’s voices are going unheeded. CARE’s soon-to-be-released Rapid Gender Analysis gathers together data from its country offices in MENA and beyond to provide a sobering picture of the pandemic’s impact on women and girls. Read More...
Refugees and the displaced, the majority of them located in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, are now faced with the COVID-19 pandemic and economically damaging efforts at its mitigation. Fragile gains in women’s workforce participation are at risk, gender-based violence is on the rise, and women’s voices are going unheeded. CARE’s soon-to-be-released Rapid Gender Analysis gathers together data from its country offices in MENA and beyond to provide a sobering picture of the pandemic’s impact on women and girls. Read More...
Latin America and the Caribbean rapid gender analysis for COVID-19
Women and girls across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are facing a terrifying mix of increased domestic violence and care burden, as well as a lower access to income and jobs, and potential social unrest as a result of the coronavirus outbreaks.
The LAC region has the highest levels of inequality in the world, with wide gaps in living standards across countries, regions, sectors, and socioeconomic spheres. When coupled with the pervasive gender inequality that persists, the response to Covid-19 in LAC becomes immeasurably more complicated. CARE International and UN Women joined forces in Latin America, and the Caribbean on this report which presents a series of recommendations aimed at ensuring a more effective gender-inclusive response in the region. The Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) for COVID-19 is a tool designed to provide information about the different needs, risks, capacities, and coping strategies of women, men, boys, girls, and gender-diverse people during the COVID-19 crisis. This RGA is part of the iterative RGA process for the LAC region and is intended as a programming tool for humanitarian actors. Read More...
The LAC region has the highest levels of inequality in the world, with wide gaps in living standards across countries, regions, sectors, and socioeconomic spheres. When coupled with the pervasive gender inequality that persists, the response to Covid-19 in LAC becomes immeasurably more complicated. CARE International and UN Women joined forces in Latin America, and the Caribbean on this report which presents a series of recommendations aimed at ensuring a more effective gender-inclusive response in the region. The Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) for COVID-19 is a tool designed to provide information about the different needs, risks, capacities, and coping strategies of women, men, boys, girls, and gender-diverse people during the COVID-19 crisis. This RGA is part of the iterative RGA process for the LAC region and is intended as a programming tool for humanitarian actors. Read More...