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The Radical Power Of Education, Arindam Nandi, Nicole Haberland, Thoai Ngo

Gender, Education, Justice, and Equity (GEJE)

When education works, people thrive and societies flourish alongside economies. We have made real progress on primary enrollment on the global scale, with 90% of children enrolling in school. However, completion rates lag far behind—only 77% of children complete lower secondary school and 58% complete upper secondary. Those numbers decline sharply for those living in poverty, for girls, and for Indigenous communities, with 44% of adolescent girls in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) either dropping out of primary school or never attending at all.

Low educational attainment and illiteracy exclude children from the freedoms that come with learning and also …

The Radical Power Of Education—Brief, Arindam Nandi, Nicole Haberland, Thoai Ngo

Gender, Education, Justice, and Equity (GEJE)

This research brief summarizes the findings of GEJE’s recent report on the impact of education across society.

Menstruation And Adolescent Girls' Daily Lives In Rural Upper Egypt, Salma Abou Hussein, Nahla G. Abdel-Tawab

Adolescents and Young People

The Population Council conducted a qualitative study to understand the menstruation-related attitudes, practices, and perceptions that shape adolescent girls’ daily routines in rural upper Egypt communities, specifically Assiut and Sohag. The study relied on in-depth interviews with unmarried adolescent girls aged 13–16; focus group discussions with girls aged 13–16, mothers, fathers, and male siblings of adolescent girls; and key informant interviews with schoolteachers, doctors/nurses, pharmacists, and community leaders. “Period poverty” (lack of access to, or inability to afford period supplies) can be detected among adolescent girls in rural Assiut and Sohag. Lack of information and emotional and practical support before …

Menstruation And Adolescent Girls' Daily Lives In Rural Upper Egypt [Arabic], Salma Abou Hussein, Nahla G. Abdel-Tawab

Adolescents and Young People

No abstract provided.

Utilisation Des Approches De Segmentation Du Public Pour Renseigner Les Programmes Intégrés De Planification Familiale Et De Santé Maternelle Au Niger, Breakthrough Research

Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights, and Choices

Comprendre les déterminants comportementaux spécifiques et les obstacles à la recherche de services de santé reproductive et maternelle est essentiel dans l’élaboration des programmes de changement social et comportemental (CSC) pouvant mieux répondre aux besoins de la communauté. Les interventions CSC efficaces peuvent intégrer la segmentation du public, la pratique consistant à diviser un public en sous[1]groupes basés sur des facteurs démographiques, psychographiques et/ou comportementaux pour développer des approches CSC sur mesure qui sont les plus susceptibles de trouver écho parmi chaque sous-groupe du public. Ce dossier présente les résultats de l’étude des profils du public pour les femmes en …

Using Audience Segmentation Approaches To Inform Integrated Family Planning And Maternal Health Programs In Niger, Breakthrough Research

Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights, and Choices

Understanding the specific behavioral determinants and barriers to health-seeking for reproductive and maternal health services is critical to developing social and behavior change (SBC) programs that can best address the needs of the community. Effective SBC interventions can incorporate audience segmentation, the practice of dividing an audience into subgroups based on demographic, psychographic, and/or behavioral factors to develop tailored SBC approaches that are most likely to resonate with each audience subgroup. This brief presents study results of audience profiles for women of reproductive age in Niger with a focus on three reproductive and maternal health behaviors. It is intended to …

Gender-Related Barriers To Schooling: What Do We Know About The Effects Of Sexuality And Life Skills Education?, Nicole Haberland

Gender Equality and Equity

No abstract provided.

Innovating And Validating Measures Of Complex Concepts, Evidence Project

Reproductive Health

Over the past several decades, a number of measures have been developed to assess complex concepts including quality of care (QoC) for family planning (FP) services, anticipated stigma, and gender and power. These measures may predict uptake of health services, contraceptive continuation, and other health-seeking behaviors. Use of these measures may be limited because they are often lengthy and have not undergone extensive assessments for reliability and validity. This brief provides an overview of the Evidence Project's validation of existing measures of QoC for FP and development of a new, shorter measure of QoC; design and validation of a measure …

Gender Integration In Social And Behavior Change, Debora B. Freitas Lopez, Sanyukta Mathur, Haley Brightman, Kathryn Berryman, Kamden Hoffmann

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This document is a review of recent social and behavior change-focused program literature focusing on the integration of gender considerations into health and non-health social and behavior change interventions. The review revealed eight promising practices: employing a gender perspective throughout the program cycle to improve outcomes; synchronizing gender strategies to ensure inclusion of men and women, boys and girls; addressing gendered health disparities that affect service use; reducing harmful traditional practices; ensuring community involvement and accountability for promotion of gender equality; considering gender during emergency preparedness and response; accounting for intersecting gendered vulnerabilities that influence health and development outcomes; and …

The Health, Economic, And Social Effect Of Covid-19 And Its Response On Gender And Sex: A Literature Review, Hannah Briggs, Thoai Ngo

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Large-scale emergencies, like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrate pervasive effects across multiple sectors. There is a continually growing body of evidence demonstrating gender and sex differences in COVID-19 disease, as well as its health, social, and economic impacts. While online resources have worked to compile this evidence, there is a need to evaluate and synthesize the available gender- and sex-disaggregated data related to COVID-19. This literature review will systematically assess and compile current literature and evidence from different disciplines. We will include peer reviewed articles, clinical studies and reports, and relevant working papers using secondary data analyses and primary research …

Gender And Power Metrics Database: A Living Database Of Scales That Have Been Used To Measure Constructs Of Gender, Agency, Power, And Control, Evidence Project

Reproductive Health

The Evidence Project created a searchable database of gender- and power-related scales used in social, health, and behavioral science research. Indicators in the database have been used in in family planning (FP), reproductive health (RH), intimate partner violence (IPV), and HIV research. This brief provides an overview of the development and content of the database.

Exploring The Overlap: Women Now’S Feminist Humanitarian Support And The Community Of Practice, Judith Bruce, Aisha Dennis

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This conversation took place between Judith Bruce, Senior Associate and Policy Analyst of the Population Council, and Aisha Dennis, former Program Director for Women Now for Development. Women Now for Development’s mission is to initiate programs led by Syrian women that protect Syrian women and children across socioeconomic backgrounds and empower women to find their political voice and participate in building a new, peaceful Syria that respects and safeguards equal rights for all its citizens. Aisha’s impressive breadth of expertise includes conflict resolution and the application of international law through strategic litigation, as well as practical experience in supporting Syrian …

Delivering Impact For Adolescent Girls: Emerging Findings From Population Council Research, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Despite numerous global commitments to invest in improving the lives of adolescent girls, questions remain as to what package of interventions can deliver the best outcomes. This report synthesizes findings from nine recent Population Council impact evaluations, conducted around the world, which indicate that empowerment and asset-building interventions for adolescent girls can improve education, health, economic, social capital, gender-equitable attitude, and violence outcomes for girls. The report includes implications for programs and investment, and identifies open questions for further research and evaluation.

Forced Child Unions: From Legal Reform To Social Disruption—Formative Research In Five Communities In Chisec, Alta Verapaz, Paola Broll, Cecilia Garcés

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Evidence has shown that child early and forced marriage/unions (CEFM/U) are harmful to the rights and development of girls and adolescents. It has also shown that increasing the minimum marriage age is not enough to eradicate this phenomenon because of the underlying practices of social institutions at the community level. This report details an investigation undertaken when a modification to the Civil Code was approved, then modified, in order to increase the minimum age of marriage in Guatemala. The investigation aimed to identify the norms, practices, and attitudes prevailing in the school, family, religion, government, and economy with regard to …

Measuring Gender Equality In Education: Lessons From 43 Countries, Stephanie Psaki, Katharine Mccarthy, Barbara Mensch

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Through the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), governments committed to achieving universal secondary school completion, including eliminating gender disparities, by 2030. The period from 1997 to 2014 saw considerable progress in closing gender gaps in school enrollment and attainment in many, but not all, low- and middle-income countries. However, as this research brief explains, claims that gender parity in primary education now exists are premature, especially in the poorest countries and new gender gaps, or gender-related challenges, may emerge as attainment increases. Moreover, the extremely low levels of secondary school enrollment—and even moreso completion—demonstrate that the SDG target of universal …

Gender Considerations Along The Hiv Treatment Cascade: An Evidence Review With Priority Actions, Melanie Croce-Galis, Jill Gay, Karen Hardee, What Works Association, Population Council

Reproductive Health

This treatment brief provides policymakers and program implementers with evidence about the impact of gender dynamics on treatment access and adherence and the gender-related gaps in treatment research and programming. It also includes priority actions that can be taken to better address gender within treatment programming and raises questions for implementation science in order to achieve the global 90-90-90 goal. This brief draws from What Works for Women and Girls: Evidence for HIV Interventions and uses the WHO treatment cascade framework to identify and analyze major gender considerations in providing antiretroviral therapy to those living with HIV in low- and …

Evidence Of Son Preference And Resulting Demographic And Health Outcomes In Pakistan, Zeba Sathar, Gul Rashida, Sabahat Hussain, Anushe Hassan

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Pakistan has a highly patriarchal society. Consequently, the desire for sons is a dominant and widely prevalent cultural value that is reinforced by feudal kinship systems that permeate many parts of the country. While reliance on sons is stronger in rural areas because of agricultural work and the tying of land ownership with male inheritance, even in other areas boys are seen to be important in carrying on the family name and taking care of parents in old age. On the other hand, daughters are seen as an expense and an economic burden in both rural and urban areas. A …

Evaluation Of Health And Education Impacts Of A Girls’ Safe Spaces Program In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Annabel Erulkar, Girmay Medhin

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Approximately one in eight of the world’s population is a girl or young woman aged 10–24 and attention is increasingly focusing on the central role of adolescent girls in achieving global health and development goals. Areas of focus by the development field include girls’ education, health, child marriage, and the experience of violence. This study analyzes the educational and health impacts of a program for slum-dwelling girls, including child domestic workers and rural-urban migrants. Established in 2006, Biruh Tesfa (Bright Future) aimed to increase social networks and support for the most marginalized girls in the poorest urban areas of Ethiopia. …

First Generation Of Gender And Hiv Programs: Seeking Clarity And Synergy, Judith Bruce, Nicole Haberland, Amy Joyce, Eva Roca, Tobey Nelson Sapiano

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

In the past decade, there have been expanding resources to address the underlying gender dimensions of HIV. This has been particularly urgent in sub-Saharan Africa as the female-to-male infection ratios in young populations has reached 3 to 1 and sometimes above. The phrase “gender and HIV” has become commonplace yet does not provide any specific guidance as to target audiences, content, or measurable results. It can include everything from microcredit programs for HIV-positive women, to workplace programs seeking to change negative male norms, to efforts to increase respect for diverse sexual and gender identities. This review, conducted by the Population …

Hazards And Gender In Children's Work: An Egyptian Perspective, Nadia Zibani

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Girls and boys can and do work. They work for a variety of reasons related to poverty or failures in educational systems, and they work to support themselves and their families or to learn skills for future careers. The types of work carried out by children often differ according to the gender of the child. Additionally, the hazards they face in their work can also be differentiated on the basis of gender. The present study attempts to develop a better understanding of the gender aspects of children’s work with a particular focus on the gender-differentiated hazards that exist therein. This …

Reducing The Social Exclusion Of Girls, Kelly Hallman, Eva Roca

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Across the globe, girls are systematically excluded from participation in social, economic, and political life. The absence of girls in these arenas has implications not only for the young women themselves but also for society as a whole, exacerbating poverty and perpetuating disparities in health, education, and economic achievement. Internationally, this marginalization makes it difficult or impossible for some countries to achieve society-wide goals, such as the Millennium Development Goals identified by the United Nations as benchmarks to reduce poverty. For a number of years, the Population Council has been studying the causes and effects of girls’ social exclusion in …

Reducir La Exclusión Social Des Las Niñas, Kelly Hallman, Eva Roca

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

En todo el mundo, las niñas son sistemáticamente excluidas de la participación en la vida social, económica y política. La ausencia de niñas en estos terrenos tiene consecuencias, no solo para las mismas jóvenes sino también para la sociedad en su totalidad, ya que se exacerba la pobreza y se perpetúan las disparidades de salud, educación y éxito económico. A nivel internacional, esta marginación dificulta o hace imposible que algunos países logren objetivos en toda la sociedad, como los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio, considerados por las Naciones Unidas como parámetros para reducir la pobreza. Desde hace algunos años, el …

Multiple Disadvantages Of Mayan Females: The Effects Of Gender, Ethnicity, Poverty, And Residence On Education In Guatemala, Kelly Hallman, Sara Peracca, Jennifer Catino, Marta Julia Ruiz

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Although access to primary education in Guatemala has increased in recent years, particularly in rural areas, levels of educational attainment and literacy remain among the lowest in Latin America. Inequalities in school access and grade attainment linked to ethnicity, gender, poverty, and residence remain. Age trends show that Mayan females are the least likely to ever enroll, and, if they do enroll, start school the latest and drop out earliest. Innovative programs for girls that combine instruction with social interaction in safe local community spaces may increase their educational attainment and their social networks and means of social support. In …