<p>This paper reviews evidence on the most widely-used social protection schemes, assessing the extent of their current and potential impact on women’s economic empowerment and, where possible, the programme design characteristics that lead to these impacts.</p>
<p>The paper highlights that cash transfer programmes can greatly contribute to rural women’s economic advancement, power and agency. However, available evidence on their empowerment outcomes is far from being conclusive, particularly as to whether cash transfers actually improve women’s bargaining power and decision-making in the household. Therefore, it is clear that putting cash in the hands of women by itself does not automatically increase women’s overall bargaining power in the household, or change gender inequalities in decision-making.</p>
<p>One of the main conclusions of this review is that better-integrated social protection systems present a unique opportunity for reducing gender inequalities in rural areas, a goal that could also work towards reducing poverty and hunger and achieving more sustainable increases in agricultural productivity. Social protection can also be used as a platform for integrating different schemes and services towards the goal of rural women’s economic empowerment, among other rural development goals.</p>
<p>Adapted from author's summary.</p>