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SSESSMENT OF THE
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CONDITIONAL CASH TRANSFER
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IMPROVE GENDER INTEGRATION IN POVERTY POLICY
March 2017
Dr. Marta Ochman
Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM)1, mochman@itesm.mx
This policy brief provides an assessment of conditional cash transfer programs aimed
at reducing extreme poverty and improving the social and economic conditions of
impoverished women, implemented in Mexico from the 90s onward. Because of the
design weaknesses, these programs have not only been unsuccessful in reducing
extreme poverty but also have fallen short in empowering women in Mexico.
Gender-inclusive social programs, particularly Oportunidades and more recently Prospera,
have had negative impact on poor women’s well-being despite the attempts to enhance
their economic autonomy. This can be attributed to its maternalistic design, which
enforce traditional gender roles, and put additional workload on women. This Policy
Brief emphasizes the importance of considering women as citizens with rights, and
persons with independent aspirations, instead of viewing them as development bearers
and means to the efficient implementation of governmental programs. To this end, the
Policy Brief offers recommendations to ensure an effective way of enhancing the
material conditions of the family by modifying the dimension of power from within
(Meza et al., 2002), and offering women a greater control over the resources provided
to them.
1
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Mexico has implemented various social policies with the aim of reducing poverty, especially addressing the causes that affect the socioeconomic conditions of women. These programs constitute also an effort to integrate the gender perspective into the development agenda of the country and achieve the goal of female empowerment, an unfulfilled promise so far. To this end, this Policy Brief provides an assessment of Oportunidades, the main anti poverty program in Mexico, designed with the principles of conditional cash transfer programs, in order to evaluate its effectiveness of women empowerment. It then provides a general recommendation to the Mexican government to invest into the universal social policy that will better attend to the basic needs of women while promoting their strategic interests.
In the last 15 years, the critical role of women in fighting poverty has been increasingly considered in designing poverty-reduction strategies. Politicians and social program designers have identified the need for women to have better access to economic resources that would consequently empower them. Though such programs have undoubtedly brought advantages, they have also entailed significant costs that are likely to have left women less empowered.
In response to the 1994 financial crisis, and the rising poverty rates, in 1997, the Mexican government launched Education, Health and Alimentation Program (Progresa), which became paradigm of the combat against extreme poverty, and laid foundations for subsequent programs, such as Oportunidades The Program of Human Development (2000-2012), and Prospera, Program of Social Inclusion (launched in September 2014). Although these programs are not the only anti-poverty strategies, they have become emblematic policy, and have marked the social imaginary of poverty, the ways of fighting it and the role of women in this task.
One of the main assumptions is that the family is where reproductive and generational processes take place; therefore, it is also where behaviours and believes can be changed. Women are the main agents of change and therefore, the most efficient instruments to assure that the money given by the government will improve alimentation, health and the education of children, and thus will enable them to break the intergenerational transmission of poverty.
Nonetheless, these conditional cash transfer programs have been unable to break the intergenerational circle of poverty (Coneval, 2015), and also had negative impact on women well-being and empowerment, because they equated empowerment with simply fulfilling basic needs. These programs do not encompass the strategic interests of women (Young, 1998), and do not consider real empowerment for what it is: being able to exercise control over the resources women have as a result of these policies, including financial resources, but also symbolic ones, such us the ability to redefine the traditional gender roles. Furthermore, the enrolled women face the inactivity trap: the time and obligations that they must assume in order to receive the benefit, handicap their opportunities in the formal labour market.
According to the multiple evaluations (Coneval, 2015; Cortés et al., 2007; Tetreault, 2012; Huesca, 2014 or Enciso, 2015 ) the conditional cash transfer programs in Mexico have been ineffective in breaking the inter-generational cycle of poverty:
1. After 12 years of Oportunidades, in the 38.5% of the households, the children, once their own families formed, became beneficiaries.
2. In the first years of functioning (until 2006) none of the families improved their socioeconomic conditions enough to leave the program; in 2007, it was accomplished by 4% of the families; between 2009 and 2010, by the 5.5%; in 2011, the 22.3% and in 2012, by only the 20.6%.
3. In 2014, the 25.5% of the families still has no access to proper alimentation, and 45.8% of Mexican women were living in poverty.
INTRODUCTION
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There is positive impact on children nutrition, school enrolment extended to secondary and upper secondary levels, and on children’s health. The positive impact on schooling is particularly significant in the case of girls and mainly, indigenous girls; this fact is attributed to the design of the program that granted higher scholarships to girls than to boys. The extended school enrolment of girls is also associated with a decrease of teenager’s fertility rates. On the negative side:
1. the enlarged school attendance has not decreased child labour, simply extended children’s workdays, 2. the decrease in unpaid domestic labours of girls, is mostly assumed by their mothers and above all, by
grandmothers, the latter demonstrates a null impact on the renegotiation of the sexual division of labour, fundamental condition for women’s empowerment.
3. the positive impact on education is measured by the years of schooling and not the quality of education, still the fundamental problem in Public education in Mexico, where 55% and 41% of students do not meet minimum proficiency levels in Mathematics and Reading, respectively (PISA 2012).
The positive impact on education, health and nutrition is further counteracted by a negative impact on women empowerment due to the maternalistic nature of the programs’ design, which reinforces the traditional image of women as caregivers/caretakers of the family and the community and thereby equates the interests of the woman (in her role as mother) with the interests of the family.
1. As said above, there are no incentives for the renegotiation of the sexual division of labour within the family, and the decrease of unpaid domestic labour for young girls means heavier workload for theirs mothers and grandmothers.
2. The conditionality of the transfer entails a high burden for women: the time and obligations that women must assume in order to receive the benefit, hamper their chances in the formal labor market. According to Gammage and Orozco (2008), the beneficiaries of Oportunidades contribute annually in private costs associated to invested time, 192 million dollars, from which the 94% is covered by women. These numbers are equivalent to the 4.8% of the program’s annual budget.
3. The empowerment potential is hampered by the disciplinary design of conditional cash transfer programs. This kind of programs ultimately assumes that people living in poverty needs government guidance and control, hence specific indications about desired behaviors are stipulated (attending school, workshops, participation in community work), as well as the compliance control mechanisms are established. In contrast, there are no participation mechanisms included in decision making process. In the particular case of Mexico and Oportunidades, cases of authoritarian and arbitrary use of power by the managers of the programs, teachers and health centers personnel, have been documented, even if those aren’t predominant practices. (Escobar and González, 2005; González, 2006; Molyneux, 2006; León, 2011).
Meanwhile, Prospera keeps the maternalistic design of Oportunidades. Launched in 2014, Prospera was conceived to keep up with economic changes relative to competition, employment, growth and productivity. Prospera maintains the same maternalistic design in two senses:
1. The economic resources compulsory-destined to nutrition and child care, are allocated preferably through women, reinforcing both traditional gender roles and the social imaginary of women as care-takers.
2. The explicit mechanisms of empowerment (education and incorporation to the labor market) are aimed towards girls and young women, accepting that middle aged and elderly women must be simply satisfied with the hope of a better life for their daughters and granddaughters.
Unlike Oportunidades, Prospera attempts to grant women with access to the labour market by making them participate in productive projects, but those are directed at traditional activities for women such as sewing, crafting and child care. Moreover, women still carry the same reproductive tasks, which refer to the activities that allow for the sustained reproduction of the labour force, but are not properly compensated for it.
Evaluating the extent to which the social programs contributed to lifting the barriers women encounter in the labor market, findings show that women face a two-prong challenge, on one side the structural segmentation of the market which dissuades their participation. On the other, program’s requirements affects women possibility to enter the formal labor market. Additionally, research on the influence these programs wield on the strategic interests of the female participants shows that, rather than combatting the ingrained social stereotypes women face in these societies, the programs exacerbate that negative impact.
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To better empower women and as such alleviate the constraints faced by women in extreme poverty, the following policy recommendations are suggested.
First and foremost, investment into universal social policies is needed, mainly programs that allow to: 1. Redistribute in a more equitable way the caretaking tasks between the family and the State. This task is
particularly urgent due to the aging process of the Mexican society and the increasing need of taking care of elderly and/or sick people. If the State recognizes and assumes its responsibility in the caretaking tasks, it wouldn’t only have a positive impact on the workload of women, but it would also allow their integration into the formal labor market, expanding their access to social security independent of their relationship with men
2. Improve the quality of public services. For example, the low quality of public education limits the possibilities of both young men and women of poor families to access a quality job. The life quality of women is also affected by the virtual nonexistence of public transportation in big cities, high cost of private one, and the urban planning in general, which displaces public housing to suburbs, a phenomenon that entails the need to invest from 4 to 5 hours per day, in order to get to the place of employment.
3. Overcome the occupational segmentation and promote the formal and decent employment for women. This also entails the task of creating jobs, mainly in the regions that aren’t attractive for the Market. Regarding the segmentation of the labor market, affirmative action measures that do not focalize on poor women, but on gender discrimination in general are needed.
Secondly, targeted policies within conditional cash transfer programs are needed to have a greater impact on women’s empowerment. This entails programs in which the power relationships between women and men are taken into consideration in terms of co-responsibilities concerning the needs and safety of the family units. As such monetary allocations must be set in such a way that women and men share the responsibilities of the household. Likewise, the current coordination sphere of social programs must reflect on the situation of women, the dimensions of power in society and households along with the functioning of the programs themselves.
Third and lastly, current programs, such as Prospera, must work not to facilitate and maintain gender stereotypes. This requires offering women entrepreneurship projects with training and technology mechanisms. Doing so will allow women to be exposed to more activities not limited to those identified as “feminine”. Further, conditional cash transfer programs must take caution not to impede women beneficiaries from entering the labor market. Labor activates must also not be limited to the youth. Women must also not be viewed as one homogenous group; circumstances and difficulties differ.
The main objective of this report is to demonstrate that conditional cash transfer programs in Mexico have failed not only to address the profound causes of poverty but have also failed to intrinsically empower women through their design. Towards this aim, a comparative analysis of development, empowerment, and Gender literature was carried out followed by an analysis of past and present social policies in Mexico with a gender perspective. The social programs analyzed included Oportunidades and Prospera.
In order to evaluate not only the former cash transfers program (Oportunidades) but also the potential of the recently launched Prospera program, we have applied the principle of prospective analysis. The main steps are: a) recompilation and systematization of existing evaluations and reports on conditional cash transfers programs (1997-2014); b) identification of main success and failure factors related to women’s empowerment theory and practice; c) review and analysis of Prospera design form the perspective of success and failure factors; d) identification of critical points for governmental action (policy recommendations).
POLICY IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
P a g e 5 CONEVAL (Consejo Nacional de Evaluación de la Política de Desarrollo Social) (2015) Informe de
Evaluación de la Política de Desarrollo Social 2014. Available from:
http://www.coneval.gob.mx/Informes/Evaluacion/IEPDS_2014/IEPDS_2014.pdfhttp://www.coneval .gob.mx/Informes/Evaluacion/IEPDS_2014/IEPDS_2014.pdf;
http://www.coneval.gob.mx/Informes/Evaluacion/IEPDS_2014/IEPDS_2014.pdf
Cortés, Fernando, Israel Banegas and Patricio Solís (2007) “Pobres con oportunidades: México 2002-2005”, Estudios Sociológicos XXV, 73, 3-40
Enciso L, Angélica (2015) “Oportunidades no logró romper cadena generacional de pobreza”, La Jornada, February 24, 2015, 35
Escobar, Agustín and Mercedes González Rocha (2005) “Evaluación cualitativa de mediano plazo del Programa Oportunidades en zonas rurales”, en: Evaluación externa del impacto del Programa Oportunidades 2004, México: Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública.
Gammage, Sara and Mónica Orozco (2008) El trabajo productivo no remunerado dentro del hogar: Guatemala y México. Serie Estudios y Perspectivas 103, México, D.F.: CEPAL
González de la Rocha, Mercedes (2006) “Los hogares en las evaluaciones cualitativas: cinco años de investigación”, In: González de la Rocha, Mercedes (ed.) Procesos domésticos y vulnerabilidad. Perspectivas antropológicas de los hogares con Oportunidades. México, D.F.: Publicaciones de la Casa Chata, 87-170.
Huesca, Luis (2014) “Medición del grado de progresividad de las Transferencias en México en 2010”, Políticas Públicas, 1 (3)
León Corona, Benito (2011) “¿Rendición o conducción? Los efectos del Programa Oportunidades en los pobres”. Política y Cultura 35, 131-160
Meza Ojeda, Alejandro; Esperanza Tuñón Pablos; Dora Elia Ramos Muñoz and Edith Michel Kauffer (2002) “Progresa y el empoderamiento de las mujeres: estudio de caso en Vista Hermosa, Chiapas”, Papeles de Población, 8 (31), 67-93.
Molyneux, Maxine (2006) “Mothers at the Service of the New Poverty Agenda: Progresa/Oportunidades, Mexico’s Conditional Transfer Programme”, Social Policy & Administration, 40 (4), 425-449. Tetreault, Darcy Víctor (2012) “La política social y los programas para combatir la pobreza en México
¿Oportunidades para quiénes?” Estudios Críticos del Desarrollo, II (2), 41-74
Young, Kate (1998) “El potencial transformador en las necesidades prácticas: empoderamiento colectivo y el proceso de planeación”, In: León, Magdalena (ed.) Poder y empoderamiento de las mujeres, Colombia: Tercer Mundo Editores, Fondo de Documentación Mujer y Género, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas, pp. 99-118.
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PROJECT NAME NOPOOR – Enhancing Knowledge for Renewed Policies against Poverty
COORDINATOR Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Paris, France
CONSORTIUM CDD The Ghana Center for Democratic Development – Accra, Ghana
CDE Centre for Development Economics – Delhi, India
CNRS (India Unit) Centre de Sciences Humaines – New Delhi, India
CRES Consortium pour la Recherche Èconomique et Sociale – Dakar, Senegal GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies – Hamburg, Germany GRADE Grupo de Análisis para el Desarrollo – Lima, Peru
IfW Kiel Institute for the World Economy – Kiel, Germany IRD Institut de Recherche pour le Développement – Paris, France
ITESM Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey – Monterrey, Mexico LISER Luxemburg Institute of Socio-Economic Research – Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxemburg OIKODROM - The Vienna Institute for Urban Sustainability – Vienna, Austria
UA-CEE Université d’Antananarivo – Antananarivo, Madagascar UAM Universidad Autónoma de Madrid – Madrid, Spain UCHILE Universidad de Chile – Santiago de Chile, Chile
UCT–SALDRU University of Cape Town – Cape Town, South Africa UFRJ Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil UNAMUR Université de Namur – Namur, Belgium
UOXF-CSAE University of Oxford, Centre for the Study of African Economies – Oxford, United Kingdom
VASS Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences – Hanoi, Vietnam
FUNDING SCHEME FP7 Framework Programme for Research of the European Union –SSH.2011.4.1-1:
Tackling poverty in a development context, Collaborative project/Specific International Cooperation Action. Grant Agreement No. 290752
DURATION April 2012 – September 2017 (66 months)
BUDGET EU contribution: 8 000 000 €
WEBSITE http://www.nopoor.eu/
FOR MORE
INFORMATION Xavier Oudin, Scientific coordinator, IRD-DIAL, Paris, France, Delia Visan, Manager, IRD-DIAL, Paris, France delia.visan@ird.fr oudin@dial.prd.fr Tel: +33 1 53 24 14 66 Contact email address: info@nopoor.eu
EDITORIAL TEAM
Edgar Aragon, Laura Valadez (ITESM) Anne-Sophie Robilliard (IRD-DIAL)
The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the European Commission.
