Gender in Welfare in the South

Abstract

Abstract This chapter focuses on gender in the implementation of social assistance programs, particularly cash transfers, in the Global South. While social cash transfers (SCTs) target the most vulnerable populations, they are designed not only for consumption soothing but also to address the underlying structures that perpetuate vulnerability and deprivation. In Zambia, where evidence of gendered poverty is prevalent, SCTs have prioritized women as recipients and ‘managers’ of the transfer within households, intending to foster their empowerment. However, current scholarship on the feminization of poverty suggests that merely centring women as transfer recipients without critically examining the norms contributing to their subjugation may hinder their progress towards empowerment. Drawing on interviews with individuals in poverty who receive cash transfers, this chapter examines the inherent contradictions between assumptions and realities of gender and empowerment in SCT households in Zambia. It interrogates the impact of gender norms embedded in this welfare programme on intra-household dynamics and the subsequent consequences for the empowerment of both men and women benefiting from such programmes. The chapter argues that the indiscriminate adoption of gender norms originating from the Global North, although perceived as progressive, often reinforces existing stereotypes and perpetuates gendered inequalities. It emphasizes the need for gender-sensitive social protection interventions encompassing broader livelihood strategies. It demonstrates the complexity of gender as a social category in welfare programming, particularly within the Global South.