Conditional Cash Transfer Programmes and Gender Vulnerabilities: Case Studies of Brazil, Chile and Colombia

This paper analyses Brazilian, Chilean and Colombian experiences with conditional cash transfer programmes and how they have helped tackle gendered economic and social vulnerabilities. It is argued that Bolsa Família, Chile Solidario and Familias en Acción should be analysed within the broader social protection strategies in which they are meant to be components. Such an approach can help generate thinking on ways to improve the impacts of the programmes in terms of gender equality. A detailed description of the programmes’ design and implementation features is provided in order to understand both their rationale and their impacts. We conclude that the programmes do tackle a number of gendered vulnerabilities but also have clear limits with regard to a more decisive role in tackling gender inequities. * The authors would like to thank and acknowledge the support of Clarissa Teixeira and Paula Nonaka in this research, as well as the input of Rebecca Holmes, Nicola Jones and Rachel Slater. ** International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG). *** National Bank for Social and Economic Development (BNDES), Brazil. 2 International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth ACRONYMS AND DEFINITION OF TERMS USED BNDES National Bank for Social and Economic Development (Brazil) CASEN National Socioeconomic Characterisation Survey (Chile) CCT Conditional Cash Transfer CEDEPLAR Centre for Regional Development and Planning (Brazil) CONPES National Economic and Social Policy Council (Colombia) CONSAD Consortium for Food Security and Local Development (Brazil) CRAS Social Assistance Reference Centre (Brazil) ECLAC Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean FOSIS Fund for Solidarity and Social Investment (Chile) FPS Social Protection Scorecard (Chile) GDP Gross Domestic Product IGBE Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (Brazil) IGD Decentralised Management Index (Brazil) IPC-IG International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (UNDP) IPEA Institute for Applied Economic Research (Brazil) MDG Millennium Development Goal MDS Ministry of Social Development and Fight against Hunger (Brazil) NGO Non-Governmental Organisation PAA Food Acquisition Programme (Brazil) PANES Social Emergency Aid Plan (Uruguay) PAT Workers’ Food Programme (Brazil) PASIS Pension and Disability Grant (Chile) PETI Programme for the Eradication of Child Labour (Brazil) PRONAF National Programme for Strengthening Family Agriculture (Brazil) RAS Network for Social Support (Colombia) RPS Social Protection Network (Nicaragua) RUPD Unified Registry of Displaced Populations (Colombia) SAE Secretariat for Strategic Affairs (Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil) SAP Water and Sewage Subsidy (Chile) SGSS General System for Social Security (Colombia) SISVAN Food and Nutritional Surveillance System (Brazil) SUF Family Subsidy (Chile) UIF Family Intervention Unit (Chile)