<p>Social cash transfer programmes in developing countries are often claimed to benefit the empowerment of women, despite a lack of clear evidence supporting this outcome. This report seeks to examine the validity of the claim through a mixed-methods evaluation of the Government of Zambia’s Child Grant Programme; a poverty-targeted, unconditional transfer given to mothers or primary caregivers of young children aged 0 to 5. <br />
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The quantitative component found some improvements for instance in the increase of women’s decision-making power within the household. However, the qualitative component also found that such changes were limited by traditional gender norms. <br />
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The results of the study are discussed and the paper argues that there is potential for national, poverty-targeted, unconditional, government-run programmes in Africa, to improve the well-being of female beneficiaries. Finally, the paper highlights methodological challenges in using intra-household decision-making as the primary indicator to measure empowerment. <br />
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Adapted from authors’ summary.<br />
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