The impact of income transfer programs on reducing
social and economic inequalities. In the case of Brazil, Bolsa Família was responsible for lifting around 36 million people out of poverty since 2003.
The benefit today goes to 13.9 million families, reaching practically a quarter of the Brazilian population. Of these families, 93% of benefit holders are women and, of these, 68% are black.
This fact alone allows women to have greater control over family resources, recognition of their authority in the domestic space and their perception as citizens, since – due to the program's conditions – they need to organize documents and go after their rights in a public service.
But it is possible (and necessary) to go further and discuss gender equity in a systematic way with men and women from beneficiary families, provoking questions and promoting reflections on the roles played socially by each one.
With this aim, Promundo, supported by the UN Women Gender Equality Fund, created the project “Promotion of gender equity in income transfer programs” – which for three years developed educational activities and campaigns in rural and urban communities of Rio de Janeiro and Recife (in partnership with Instituto Papai).
The results are encouraging: while before the project 75% of the men who participated in the project agreed that taking care of children was part of their responsibilities, at the end of the activities 100% of the men participating were in agreement with this premise. And if before 35.5% stated that taking care of the house, children and cooking for the family are the main functions of women, at the end of the activities this number fell to 22%. Before the project, 13% of male participants said that women should not have a say in family expenses and at the end of the project the percentage of men who declared that decisions about money should be made exclusively by men fell to around 8%.
In the case of women, the perception of their role in family relationships and relationships with men has also changed, as demonstrated by qualitative research carried out before and after the project. Statements that pointed to a certain resignation about the female role of caring for the home and children were replaced by a greater understanding of men's responsibility in these tasks and women's right to seek greater emotional and financial independence.
Forming multipliers
“We are convinced that this successful experience can be replicated on a large scale in other Brazilian states and even in countries that have similar income transfer programs”, assesses Vanessa Fonseca, program coordinator at Promundo.
And this is precisely the current phase of the project: training professionals who work directly with Bolsa Família beneficiaries to include the discussion of gender in their routines. So far, more than 400 professionals from public bodies and municipal and state departments have been trained in Rio de Janeiro and Nova Friburgo, in Rio de Janeiro, Itararé, in São Paulo and Recife, in Pernambuco.
To assist these professionals in their work, the Toolbook Promoting Gender Equality in Income Transfer Programs was produced, with guidelines and suggestions for activities. The publication was launched in Rio de Janeiro on June 30th and in addition to being distributed among professionals, it is available in an online version . Along with the toolkit, the Dividing Care Booklet: Equality between Women and Men in the Bolsa Família Program was launched, which addresses topics related to gender equity and will be distributed to Bolsa Família beneficiaries. The booklet is also available online .
Based on the experience gained over the three years of the project, Promundo listed a series of recommendations for promoting gender equality across the board, across a series of public policies – notably the Bolsa Família program. Among the recommendations are the incorporation of activities that discuss the consequences of gender norms for men and women in public services that are part of the Bolsa Família Program; the inclusion of men in promoting gender equality and the articulation of the debate on gender with race, sexual orientation and social class.
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