Women's Economic Empowerment
ECONOMIC STRENGTHENING FOR A SUSTAINABLE RETURN TO KOSOVO
This report is an external evaluation of “Economic Strengthening for a Sustainable Return to Kosovo* ” project, implemented by CARE Interrnational Balkan, Serbia Office and two co-applicants – NEXUS Vranje and the City of Vranje, financed by the European Union (IPA/2017/154545-2/7, Contract no. 2018/397-386). Lead applicant of the project was CARE Deutschland-Luxemburg e.V. Project implementation period under review was from the 11th July 2018 to 10th September 2020. The evaluation was carried out by the external evaluator in the September 2020.
Overall objective of the project was to enable IDPs and returnees from the readmission process exercise full rights, supported by enabling migration policies and processes in Republic of Serbia. This overall goal was planned to be achieved through reaching the specific objective - Support the prospect of sustainable return to Kosovo by increasing the skills and employability of IDPs and readmissants in their current place of living to provide the necessary basis for an eventual return when the political situation has altered in a way that return becomes more realistic.
This project was well designed, led and implemented. The results achieved until the end of the implementation of the project have been assessed as fully accomplished. The entirety of planned activities, in spite of some of them being delayed due to COVID19 pandemic, was realized until the end of the project cycle. The estimated number of beneficiaries that was to be covered with this Action was reached, while the number of beneficiaries of in-kind grants was surpassed. As was planned all project activities were based on the needs of direct beneficiaries, matching those needs to available resources, supporting and nurturing communication and cooperation between all relevant stakeholders. Read More...
Overall objective of the project was to enable IDPs and returnees from the readmission process exercise full rights, supported by enabling migration policies and processes in Republic of Serbia. This overall goal was planned to be achieved through reaching the specific objective - Support the prospect of sustainable return to Kosovo by increasing the skills and employability of IDPs and readmissants in their current place of living to provide the necessary basis for an eventual return when the political situation has altered in a way that return becomes more realistic.
This project was well designed, led and implemented. The results achieved until the end of the implementation of the project have been assessed as fully accomplished. The entirety of planned activities, in spite of some of them being delayed due to COVID19 pandemic, was realized until the end of the project cycle. The estimated number of beneficiaries that was to be covered with this Action was reached, while the number of beneficiaries of in-kind grants was surpassed. As was planned all project activities were based on the needs of direct beneficiaries, matching those needs to available resources, supporting and nurturing communication and cooperation between all relevant stakeholders. Read More...
COVID-19: Impacts, Attitudes, and Safety Nets in Haiti (April 2021)
In April 2021, CARE conducted interviews with savings group members and leaders to understand their experiences of COVID-19, and how it was changing their lives. The survey included 364 women and 175 men, for a total of 539 respondents. This follows a survey done in June 2020 to understand what was happening at that time for members of savings groups. The surveys covered Artibonite and Grand Anse.
COVID-19 continues to have important impacts for women and men in savings groups. In general, men and women in these groups were reporting similar challenges across the sample. 86% of women and men are reporting impacts in their livelihoods, and 98% of people say that COVID-19 is affecting their ability to save. 64% say they can’t meet family needs and hunger has gone up. 90% of people are reporting that COVID-19 is impacting their social lives. More women than men report that Gender Based Violence has gone up. While women are more likely to have lost influence in the household than men (39% compared to 33%), men are more likely to report that they lost social status in the community (48% compared to 43%). Read More...
COVID-19 continues to have important impacts for women and men in savings groups. In general, men and women in these groups were reporting similar challenges across the sample. 86% of women and men are reporting impacts in their livelihoods, and 98% of people say that COVID-19 is affecting their ability to save. 64% say they can’t meet family needs and hunger has gone up. 90% of people are reporting that COVID-19 is impacting their social lives. More women than men report that Gender Based Violence has gone up. While women are more likely to have lost influence in the household than men (39% compared to 33%), men are more likely to report that they lost social status in the community (48% compared to 43%). Read More...
Empowering Women to Claim their Inheritance Rights: Post-Project Impact Analysis
Between January 2013 to June 2016, CARE International Egypt implemented a project addressing “Empowering women to claim Inheritance Rights (WIN)”. This project was funded by the European Commission under the Gender Equality Programme and aimed to strengthen the access of women particularly those in Upper Egypt to gain access and control over their economic rights, resources and opportunities through their lawful inheritance.
The objectives of this impact evaluation was to:
1. Quantify the Impact achieved as the result of the Amended Inheritance Law in terms of people whose rights to a life free from (economic) violence is being fulfilled to a greater degree than before the amended Inheritance law.
2. Assess and analyse if/how the introduction of criminalization and penalties in the Inheritance Law have enhanced the application of the amended Inheritance Law to date and provide recommendations on how its application can be further improved/strengthened.
3. Identify and analyse non intended effects both positive or negative, of the Amended Inheritance Law with regards to women property rights through inheritance.
Extrapolating the model to the published data on vital statistics, agricultural statistics and income expenditure published by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics of 2016 through 2019 reveals that the application of the new amendment of the law potentially results in nearly 34,000 more women who can have access to their inheritance annually.
Based on feedback from women’s’ activists interviewed, the effect of COVID-19 and the closure of courts on the number of women affected was believed to be negligible. Many of these cases are extremely complex and usually take many years in courts and hence would not be significantly affected by this delay.
As inferred from the feedback of key informants, it is too early to to identify positive impacts of the law amendment, however, they highlighted some threats that might hinder the achievement of the desired impact of the law amendment.
- The long duration of the legal dispute and associated legal costs
- Procedural pitfalls
- Socio cultural barriers Read More...
The objectives of this impact evaluation was to:
1. Quantify the Impact achieved as the result of the Amended Inheritance Law in terms of people whose rights to a life free from (economic) violence is being fulfilled to a greater degree than before the amended Inheritance law.
2. Assess and analyse if/how the introduction of criminalization and penalties in the Inheritance Law have enhanced the application of the amended Inheritance Law to date and provide recommendations on how its application can be further improved/strengthened.
3. Identify and analyse non intended effects both positive or negative, of the Amended Inheritance Law with regards to women property rights through inheritance.
Extrapolating the model to the published data on vital statistics, agricultural statistics and income expenditure published by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics of 2016 through 2019 reveals that the application of the new amendment of the law potentially results in nearly 34,000 more women who can have access to their inheritance annually.
Based on feedback from women’s’ activists interviewed, the effect of COVID-19 and the closure of courts on the number of women affected was believed to be negligible. Many of these cases are extremely complex and usually take many years in courts and hence would not be significantly affected by this delay.
As inferred from the feedback of key informants, it is too early to to identify positive impacts of the law amendment, however, they highlighted some threats that might hinder the achievement of the desired impact of the law amendment.
- The long duration of the legal dispute and associated legal costs
- Procedural pitfalls
- Socio cultural barriers Read More...
Línea de base del proyecto “IGNITE: Liberando el poder de las empresarias”
El objetivo general de la evaluación es implementar la Línea de Base del Proyecto IGNITE, a través de la medición de los valores de 20 indicadores de desempeño del Proyecto (de impacto, de resultados intermedios e inmediatos), como de factores contextuales y externos asociados. La estimación del valor de los indicadores se ha realizado a partir de los resultados obtenidos de aplicar una Encuesta en mayo del 2021 a 315 personas beneficiarias del Proyecto. Estas personas integran las Bases de Datos facilitadas por CARE para la presente evaluación, que a su vez han sido proporcionadas por socios institucionales de CARE para la implementación del
Proyecto: (a) Financiera Confianza, (b) PROMUC, y (c) Proyecto Mujeres Emprendedoras. Adicionalmente, estas 315 personas cumplían con las siguientes características: contaban con celulares operativos (requisito indispensable ya que la encuesta se realizó exclusivamente por vía telefónica); no se dedicaban a la agricultura o ganadería como único negocio; y tenían personas laborando en su negocio desde antes del inicio de la pandemia. Una limitación ha sido la tasa de no aplicación de la Encuesta debido a que no contestaron el celular o a que desistieron de participar en la Encuesta (aproximadamente el 40% del universo inicialmente previsto). [89 Pages] Read More...
Proyecto: (a) Financiera Confianza, (b) PROMUC, y (c) Proyecto Mujeres Emprendedoras. Adicionalmente, estas 315 personas cumplían con las siguientes características: contaban con celulares operativos (requisito indispensable ya que la encuesta se realizó exclusivamente por vía telefónica); no se dedicaban a la agricultura o ganadería como único negocio; y tenían personas laborando en su negocio desde antes del inicio de la pandemia. Una limitación ha sido la tasa de no aplicación de la Encuesta debido a que no contestaron el celular o a que desistieron de participar en la Encuesta (aproximadamente el 40% del universo inicialmente previsto). [89 Pages] Read More...
Estudio de Base del Proyecto “MUJERES RESILIENTES: NUEVAS OPORTUNIDADES PARA SU REACTIVACIÓN ECONÓMICA E INCLUSIÓN FINANCIERA EN RESPUESTA AL IMPACTO DE LA CRISIS DEL COVID-19”
El presente estudio de base es elaborado con el objetivo de medir la situación inicial PROYECTO “MUJERES RESILIENTES: NUEVAS OPORTUNIDADES PARA SU REACTIVACIÓN ECONÓMICA E INCLUSIÓN FINANCIERA EN RESPUESTA AL IMPACTO DE LA CRISIS DEL COVID-19”, el cual viene siendo ejecutado por CARE Perú. Para el desarrollo del estudio se implementó una metodología predominantemente cuantitativa que emplea principalmente fuente y técnica de recojo de información de naturaleza cuantitativa. El ámbito geográfico del estudio de base comprende las zonas donde actualmente interviene el proyecto, las cuales involucra 38 distritos en los departamentos de Arequipa, La Libertad y Lima. Las principales variables analizadas se corresponden con el contexto local distrital en el que opera el proyecto, con características básicas del público objetivo (características personales de las beneficiarias, de sus hogares, acceso a servicios y afectación por el COVID-19), los cambios esperados por el proyecto como estrategia de intervención (capacidades técnicas, estrategias de mercado, servicios financieros) y la transversalización de género. Estas variables se analizaron en la población objetivo del proyecto. Los informantes que proporcionaron la información requerida para el estudio fueron principalmente las mujeres emprendedoras inscritas en el Proyecto. En este grupo de informantes se aplicaron 302 encuestas a mujeres emprendedoras y se complementó con siete entrevistas a funcionarios públicos de Municipios y Programas Públicos. Para el recojo de información, se diseñó un total de 3 formatos de recojo de información primaria, los cuales fueron aplicados durante los meses de mayo y junio del 2021, con algunas limitaciones propias de una aplicación por teléfono (llamadas no contestadas, servicios suspendidos, números equivocados) y otras referentes a la disponibilidad del informante (rechazo directo, falta de tiempo). [90 Pages]
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Informe Final de evaluación del Proyecto “Conéctate: Finanzas al alcance de tus manos – Escalamiento”
El escalamiento del proyecto “Conéctate: finanzas al alcance de tus manos” tuvo como objetivo capacitar a 3500 emprendedoras de zonas rurales y periurbanas de los departamentos de Lima, Ica y Piura, brindándoles capacitación práctica y motivadora para desarrollar sus conocimientos, actitudes y capacidades financieras y conectarlas al sistema financiero. En este sentido, el presente informe de evaluación final considera una metodología múltiple compuesta por el análisis de la data telemétrica de LISTA Perú, el análisis cualitativo, y el cuantitativo de los resultados de la línea de base y de salida. La metodología del estudio llevó a variaciones, debido al contexto de emergencia por COVID-19, por un lado, se modificó de una modalidad presencial a una virtual y por el otro se redujo el número de muestra comparativa en la línea de salida. Este último conllevó a
realizar un análisis de desgaste por el cual se concluyó que la diferencia sería marginal e inconsistente en cuanto a la magnitud en comparación de las variables, por lo que a pesar del 35% del desgaste en la línea de salida, no es posible demostrar que existiría un desbalance generalizado, puede si, restar el poder estadístico al estudio si se requiere detectar cambios de manera precisa en los resultados. En este sentido, se encuestó a 360 participantes y se entrevistó a 23 participantes y lideresas de las tres regiones que complementariamente a información telemétrica de la app LISTA Perú permitió dar lectura a los resultados. Entre las conclusiones más saltantes de la evaluación que puede indicar que en cerca del 80% de las (los) participantes se identificaron mejoras en relación a la confianza en el uso de medios digitales financieros, así como, cerca del 70% de las (los) participantes presentaron mejoras en relación a las prácticas financieras y vinculadas al ahorro en el hogar y por otro lado más de las mitad de las (los) participantes mostraron mejoras en relación a sus prácticas en gestión financiera del negocio, principalmente en lo relacionado al manejo de los ingresos y gastos separados a las cuentas del hogar. Un aspecto relevante por resaltar es que fueron las mujeres quienes tuvieron una mayor variación positiva estadísticamente significativa al finalizar la implementación del programa respecto a los hombres. [95 pages]
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realizar un análisis de desgaste por el cual se concluyó que la diferencia sería marginal e inconsistente en cuanto a la magnitud en comparación de las variables, por lo que a pesar del 35% del desgaste en la línea de salida, no es posible demostrar que existiría un desbalance generalizado, puede si, restar el poder estadístico al estudio si se requiere detectar cambios de manera precisa en los resultados. En este sentido, se encuestó a 360 participantes y se entrevistó a 23 participantes y lideresas de las tres regiones que complementariamente a información telemétrica de la app LISTA Perú permitió dar lectura a los resultados. Entre las conclusiones más saltantes de la evaluación que puede indicar que en cerca del 80% de las (los) participantes se identificaron mejoras en relación a la confianza en el uso de medios digitales financieros, así como, cerca del 70% de las (los) participantes presentaron mejoras en relación a las prácticas financieras y vinculadas al ahorro en el hogar y por otro lado más de las mitad de las (los) participantes mostraron mejoras en relación a sus prácticas en gestión financiera del negocio, principalmente en lo relacionado al manejo de los ingresos y gastos separados a las cuentas del hogar. Un aspecto relevante por resaltar es que fueron las mujeres quienes tuvieron una mayor variación positiva estadísticamente significativa al finalizar la implementación del programa respecto a los hombres. [95 pages]
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FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR THE PROJECT “NEW ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR RETURNEES AND LOCAL PEOPLE IN SOUTH-EAST SERBIA”
This study has been elaborated in order to respond to the needs of CARE International Balkans for the design of the project “New economic opportunities for returnees and local marginalised local people in South-East Serbia”. The research is comprised of several approaches with the aim to deliver sufficient information and data on prospects for the successful implementation of the planned action: information on possibilities for socio-economic inclusion of returnees (in Serbia) and prospects of economic improvement for other groups of citizens vulnerable to migration to western countries.
Purpose of this study is to provide a sound basis for developing a project concept and proposal, by identifying project preconditions, opportunities and risks for its implementation. This study provides relevant information on the socio-economic status of returnees and vulnerable local population, their capacity for economic engagement and employment, access to the labour market, as well as economic potential of local business environment.
CARE International Balkans as the lead organization has selected two partners from civil society organizations, ENECA and NEXUS, as project partners which are situated in the regions in which the project would be implemented. The initial project idea has defined geographical coverage which would include 6 administrative districts in Serbia, concentrated in South East Serbia (districts of Pcinj, Jablanica, Nis, Pirot, Bor and Timok). According to the Population Census conducted in 2011 in Serbia, the population of 6 identified districts totals to 1 089 142 inhabitants of which 481 576 are females. These 6 districts make up 15.15% of the overall population of Serbia according to the 2011 Census. Of the 32 local self governments, 21 are classified in the 4th category of development, 5 are in the 3rd category of development, 4 are in the 2nd category and only 2 (Nis and Bor) are in the 1st category of economic development defined by the Regional Development Agency of Serbia. Additionally, a large number of the LSGs in the 4th category are additionally classified into the group of devastated areas/LSGs.
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Purpose of this study is to provide a sound basis for developing a project concept and proposal, by identifying project preconditions, opportunities and risks for its implementation. This study provides relevant information on the socio-economic status of returnees and vulnerable local population, their capacity for economic engagement and employment, access to the labour market, as well as economic potential of local business environment.
CARE International Balkans as the lead organization has selected two partners from civil society organizations, ENECA and NEXUS, as project partners which are situated in the regions in which the project would be implemented. The initial project idea has defined geographical coverage which would include 6 administrative districts in Serbia, concentrated in South East Serbia (districts of Pcinj, Jablanica, Nis, Pirot, Bor and Timok). According to the Population Census conducted in 2011 in Serbia, the population of 6 identified districts totals to 1 089 142 inhabitants of which 481 576 are females. These 6 districts make up 15.15% of the overall population of Serbia according to the 2011 Census. Of the 32 local self governments, 21 are classified in the 4th category of development, 5 are in the 3rd category of development, 4 are in the 2nd category and only 2 (Nis and Bor) are in the 1st category of economic development defined by the Regional Development Agency of Serbia. Additionally, a large number of the LSGs in the 4th category are additionally classified into the group of devastated areas/LSGs.
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Women, Migration and Development: Investing in the future
On the 17th and 18th of July 2014, the International Conference on Women, Migration and Development: Investing In The Future was convened by CARE
International and hosted at the Overseas Development Institute in London. The objectives of the conference were to: 1) highlight the challenges faced by vulnerable migrant workers, especially women, 2) advocate, based on CARE and others’ experiences, for strategies, policy and practical responses which need to be taken to protect migrant workers’ well-being, particularly with respect to safe mobility and access to healthcare, 3) recognize women migrants’ contribution as economic actors and advocate for policies and planning processes that ensure their protection, 4) advocate for recognition of the role of migration as a key development enabler in the post-2015 development agenda. CARE and ODI presented the findings from their five year EMPHASIS (Enhancing Mobile Populations’ Access to HIV and AIDS Services, Information and Support) programme in South Asia. EMPHASIS, a project which started as a HIV and health intervention, was successful in surfacing and addressing other aspects such as safety and dignity of migrants, economic empowerment, financial inclusion and safe remittances, access to education for migrants’ children, and women’s empowerment. The conference was a response to the call at the May 2014 Stockholm Global Forum for Migration and Development both for civil society/government cooperation around regional systemic approaches to migration and for urgently needed programmatic data and evidence on migration. EMPHASIS is considered among very few projects globally which comprehensively cover the migration experience from source, through transit, to destination countries. The EMPHASIS Learning Series report, which provides a comprehensive overview of
the EMPHASIS programme, was launched during the conference. [5 Pages] Read More...
International and hosted at the Overseas Development Institute in London. The objectives of the conference were to: 1) highlight the challenges faced by vulnerable migrant workers, especially women, 2) advocate, based on CARE and others’ experiences, for strategies, policy and practical responses which need to be taken to protect migrant workers’ well-being, particularly with respect to safe mobility and access to healthcare, 3) recognize women migrants’ contribution as economic actors and advocate for policies and planning processes that ensure their protection, 4) advocate for recognition of the role of migration as a key development enabler in the post-2015 development agenda. CARE and ODI presented the findings from their five year EMPHASIS (Enhancing Mobile Populations’ Access to HIV and AIDS Services, Information and Support) programme in South Asia. EMPHASIS, a project which started as a HIV and health intervention, was successful in surfacing and addressing other aspects such as safety and dignity of migrants, economic empowerment, financial inclusion and safe remittances, access to education for migrants’ children, and women’s empowerment. The conference was a response to the call at the May 2014 Stockholm Global Forum for Migration and Development both for civil society/government cooperation around regional systemic approaches to migration and for urgently needed programmatic data and evidence on migration. EMPHASIS is considered among very few projects globally which comprehensively cover the migration experience from source, through transit, to destination countries. The EMPHASIS Learning Series report, which provides a comprehensive overview of
the EMPHASIS programme, was launched during the conference. [5 Pages] Read More...
Final: Servicio de Diagnóstico sobre las Necesidades de Financiamiento y de Servicios de Desarrollo Empresarial en contexto Post-COVID 19 de los Empresarios de la Microempresa y Pequeña Empresa – MYPE
CARE Peru. El presente informe tiene como objetivo presentar los resultados del primer y segundo levantamiento de información y el diagnóstico para la identificación de las Necesidades de Financiamiento y de Servicios de Desarrollo Empresarial en contexto Post-COVID 19 de los Empresarios de la Microempresa y Pequeña Empresa – MYPE, durante el periodo de diciembre del 2020 a marzo del 2021. Para ello, se realizó una revisión del enfoque metodológico empleado, proceso y herramientas de recojo de información, en donde se detalló los elementos que permitieron y dificultaron dicho proceso. El diagnóstico consitió en el análisis de la información recogida en donde se tomará en cuenta la revisión de los hallazgos por variables del estudio, diferencias percibidas por grupo de participación (strivers y pre-strivers), así como de la diferenciación por género y resiliencia. Por otro lado, se presentan conclusiones enfatizando temas relacionados a su gestión empresarial como formas de financiamiento, conocimiento de plataformas y medios virtuales, conocimientos sobre estructuración de costos, demanda de microcréditos de los y las micro-empresario/as [63 pgs.] Read More...
Promoting Economic Resilience of Syrian Women (PERSEVERE) Annual Project Results Report (April 2020 – March 2021)
“Promoting Economic Resilience of Syrian Women” (PERSEVERE, CAD$8,497,675) is undertaken with the financial support from the Government of Canada, provided through Global Affairs Canada. It aims to enhance the resilience of displaced and conflict-affected Syrian women, including women with disabilities. Led by CARE Canada and implemented by the Syria Resilience Consortium (SRC), CARE, and Humanity & Inclusion (HI), PERSEVERE is designed to contribute to this goal through the following Intermediate Outcomes:
1) Women, including young and older women as well as women with disabilities, participate more actively in community economic governance; and
2) Community members, institutions, and response actors actively support the inclusion of Gender, Age and Disability (GAD) consideration in economic governance. Initial project learning and methods are meant to be shared across the whole of Syria and other SRC members and introduced to wider response actors contributing to resilience.
This year, the program has been continuing to support inclusion of women and persons with disabilities in livelihood activities. More women have been provided with in-depth training to support other women to expand and grow their businesses. Read More...
1) Women, including young and older women as well as women with disabilities, participate more actively in community economic governance; and
2) Community members, institutions, and response actors actively support the inclusion of Gender, Age and Disability (GAD) consideration in economic governance. Initial project learning and methods are meant to be shared across the whole of Syria and other SRC members and introduced to wider response actors contributing to resilience.
This year, the program has been continuing to support inclusion of women and persons with disabilities in livelihood activities. More women have been provided with in-depth training to support other women to expand and grow their businesses. Read More...