United Nations Headquarters
Conference Room A - Conference Building
New York, NY 10017
United States
As the nature of work has evolved for women, has social protection changed with it? Are we seeing the focus of social protection turn much more towards supporting women getting into employment, rather than keeping out of poverty? While gaining access to the labour market can be a powerful and sustainable step out of the poverty trap, research highlights the continued need of social protection to go beyond ‘cash transfers’ and provide emotional support and life skills beyond solely employment.
This side-event is co-hosted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the Impact Initiative and the Institute of Development Studies and will be an interactive session highlighting the evidence from diverse projects, and connecting it to the experiences of people in the room.
The panel includes:
- Thokozile Ruzvidzo, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (chair)
- Keetie Roelen, Institute of Development Studies (IDS)
- Nicola Ansell, Brunel University
- Phakama Ntshongwana, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
- Mandu Reid, The UK Women’s Equality Party
The panellists will present evidence from three projects:
- Lone Mothers in South Africa - The role of social security in respecting and protecting dignity
- Social cash transfers, generational relations and youth poverty trajectories in rural Lesotho and Malawi
- Pathways to stronger futures in Haiti
The purpose of the side event is to propose policy ideas or innovations based on research and evidence to better support women once they are in work to escape and stay out of poverty.
The session will be based on research funded by the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Department for International Development (DFID). It is organised as part of the sixty-third session of the Commission on the Status of Women which takes place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 11 to 22 March 2019 and focuses on social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.
Register here to let us know you're coming.
Related resources
Research for Policy and Practice Paper: Women, work and social protection
Key Issues Guide: Women at Work: Understanding the Social Norms that Restrict Women's Access to Paid Work
Social Media
Engage with us on Twitter using hashtags and handles #CSW63 and #Policies4 @The_Impact_Init @ECA_Official @ManduReid @KeetieRoelen