South Asia Gender Innovation Lab
Impact Evaluations
Skills Development and Labor Market Entry for Adolescent Girls and Young Women
SMS Girl
Sending Messages About Schooling for Re-Enrollment and Learning
Country: Pakistan
Status: Results published
Partner: World Bank Education Global Department
The evaluation tests how text messages to parents encouraging girls' education can minimize the impact of COVID-19 on learning and school dropouts during school closures. The evaluation was carried out as part of World Bank’s Pakistan: Third Punjab Education Sector Project.
Improving Education and Gender Attitudes
A cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of Growth Mindset and Girl Rising among Adolescents in Bangladesh
Country: Bangladesh
Status: Data collection completed (results forthcoming)
Partners: Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) program; World Bank Education Global Department
The evaluation measures the effects of a phone-based outreach to adolescents during COVID-19 school closures in Bangladesh. It was carried out as part of the World Bank’s Transforming Secondary Education for Results Operation.
Bus-tling to Success
Experimental Evidence on Subsidized Transportation for Girls in Remote Contexts
Country: Pakistan
Status: In progress
Partner: World Bank Transport and Education Global Departments
The evaluation assesses the effects of subsidized, safe transport to middle schools for girls in rural areas on girls' school enrollment rates, attendance, and learning outcomes. The evaluation is being carried out as part of the World Bank’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rural Accessibility Project (KPRAP).
Enhancing Productivity, Building Resilience, and Promoting Climate-Smart Techniques Among Women in Agriculture
Impact Evaluation of the Afghanistan Strengthening Women’s Economic Empowerment Project (SWEEP)
Country: Afghanistan
Status: Data collection completed (results forthcoming)
Partners: Aga Khan Foundation; World Bank Social Policy Global Department
The evaluation assesses the impacts of a community-based pilot intervention (skills training, business support services, and financial access) on the work, earnings, savings, as well as the mobility, attitudes, and decision-making of poor women in rural and peri-urban areas in Afghanistan. The evaluation was carried out as part of the World Bank’s Strengthening Women’s Economic Empowerment Project (SWEEP).
Promoting Entry, Retention, and Success of Women in the Workplace
Job Talash
Women's Mobility and Labor Supply
Country: Pakistan
Status: Results published
Partners: Center for Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP); Job Talash
The evaluation measures the impact of varied transport availability in Lahore, Pakistan, on labor outcomes for women and men in cities with high crime rates and conservative social norms.
Digital Labor Platforms and Training and Conditions of Work for Domestic Workers (HelloTask)
Country: Bangladesh
Status: Data collection completed (results forthcoming)
Partners: Oxfam Bangladesh; World Bank South Asia Chief Economist Office
The evaluation tests if providing new job opportunities through a digital platform and training to domestic workers can improve income and work conditions, including reduce experiences of abuse and violence.
Job Talash
Barriers and Returns to Search on a Job Matching Platform
Country: Pakistan
Status: Data collection completed (results forthcoming)
Partners: Center for Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP); Job Talash
The evaluation assesses whether calling job seekers to invite them to apply for positions--instead of having them call to apply—changes application behaviors, especially among prospective job seekers.
Publicizing Female Friendliness of Work Environment in Job Advertisements
Country: Pakistan
Status: Data collection completed (results forthcoming)
The evaluation measures the impact of a new gender-sensitive job advertisement format, specifically disclosing job attributes valued by women in vacancy postings, in one of Pakistan’s leading online job portals.
Using Online Employability Skills Programs to Improve Labor Force Participation for Women
Country: India
Status: Data collection completed (results forthcoming)
Partners: Medha NGO; World Bank’s Development Economics Research Group and Education Global Department
The evaluation assesses whether a phone-based job portal app, which provided information about job opportunities, employers, and industries, reduced informational and employment barriers for young women graduates seeking jobs in India. The evaluation was carried out as part of the World Bank’s Skills Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement Operation (STRIVE) project.
Wage Subsidies to Promote Female Hiring
Evidence from Pakistan
Country: Pakistan
Status: Data collection completed (results forthcoming)
Partners: World Bank South Asia Chief Economist Office
The evaluation examines the influence of a firm-level wage subsidy on women’s entry into mid-level technical and managerial jobs in male-dominated technology sectors. The study also sought to understand whether increasing exposure to women in the workplace could change norms among employers.
Job Talash
Gender and occupational choice on a job search platform
Country: Pakistan
Status: Data collection completed (results forthcoming)
Partners: Center for Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP); Job Talash; Center for Research in Economics and Business (CREB)
The evaluation tests whether providing simple information about how many firms are seeking workers in different occupations on a job search platform influences the types of occupations women and men choose to pursue.
Job Search and Skills Development of Technical Vocational Education and Training Students
Experimental Evidence from Bangladesh
Country: Bangladesh
Status: In progress
Partners: World Bank Education Global Department
The evaluation aims to examine whether and how a job matching platform can improve the transition of technical diploma graduates to the labor market, while also testing a set of complementary interventions that address gender-specific barriers. The evaluation is being carried out in collaboration with the World Bank’s Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) Project.
Job Talash: Misreported Applicant Qualifications
Implications for Job Search and Hiring
Country: Pakistan
Status: In progress
Partners: Center for Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP); Job Talash
A set of interlinked experiments on Job Talash examine whether a centralized reference checking service can reduce firms’ reliance on informal networks that often exclude women, increase consideration of female candidates, and promote greater skill investments among job seekers. The study measures impacts on hiring behavior, job seeker reporting practices, and investment in skills.
Job Talash
Nudging Firms to Open Job Ads to Women
Country: Pakistan
Status: In progress
Partners: Center for Economic Research in Pakistan; Job Talash
The evaluation studies the effects of an "encouragement message" that seeks to nudge firms to open job advertisements to women (and not men exclusively) at the time that they are listing a position search on the Job Talash platform.
Addressing Barriers to Successful Women’s Entrepreneurship
Empowering Entrepreneurs
Experimental Evidence from a Personal Initiative Intervention in India
Country: India
Status: Data collection completed (results forthcoming)
Partners: Doorways; Hand-in-Hand; World Bank Agriculture Global Department
The evaluation examines the impact of the psychology-based Personal Initiative Training on women's and men's entrepreneurial success. This program teaches a proactive, self-starting approach to entrepreneurship. The evaluation was carried out as part of the World Bank’s Tamil Nadu Rural Transformation Project.
Impact Evaluation of the Entrepreneurial Mindset Development Program
Country: India
Status: Data collection completed (results forthcoming)
Partner: GAME Consortium (Udhyam, Aflatoun, ReapBenefit, MakerGhat NGOs)
This evaluation measures the effects of a novel and award-winning curriculum rolled out in public schools in Andhra Pradesh – the Entrepreneurial Mindset Development Program – on boys' and girls' soft and hard skills, test scores, and behavioral changes.
Women’s Safety
Sexual Harassment in Public Spaces and Police Patrols
Experimental Evidence from Urban India
Country: India
Status: Results published
Partner: Hyderabad City Police
The evaluation assesses the impact of an innovative police patrol program, including exposure to police patrols and the visibility of officers, on the prevalence and severity of sexual harassment in public spaces in Hyderabad, India.
Social Norms
Information Gaps and de Jure Legal Rights
Evidence from Pakistan
Country: Pakistan
Status: Results published
Partner: Punjab Commission on the Status of Women
The evaluation assesses whether a first ever mandatory training to marriage registrars helps reduce violations of women’s rights in marriage, in accordance with legal reforms imposing penalties for violations of these rights. This includes rules on the completion of marriage contracts, which affect divorce and women’s financial rights in marriage.
The Effect of Manager Gender and Performance Feedback
Experimental Evidence from India
Country: India
Status: Results published
The evaluation assesses the effect of a fictitious manager's negative and positive performance feedback to workers on workers' efforts and attitudes. The evaluation particularly examines this effect by the gender of the manager.
Debiasing Law Enforcement
Effects of an Expressive Arts Intervention in India
Country: India
Status: Data collection completed (results forthcoming)
Partners: Mitika; Bihar State Police
The evaluation studies the impact of an expressive arts pedagogy intervention for police officers on technical and soft skills, and norms and behaviors regarding gender-based violence. It measures officers’ victim blaming, empathy, and knowledge of GBV-specific laws.
Social Protection
Impact Evaluation of the Targeting the Ultra Poor Program
Country: Afghanistan
Status: Results published
Partners: World Bank Finance, Competitiveness & Innovation Global Department and Development Impact Group
The evaluation studies the impact of a ‘big push’ package (transfer of livestock, cash stipend, skills training, and coaching) to ultra-poor women on poverty reduction and women's empowerment. The evaluation was carried out as part of the World Bank’s Afghanistan Access to Finance Project.
Impact of Biometric Identification on Female Cash Transfer Recipients in Pakistan
Country: Pakistan
Status: Data collection completed (results forthcoming)
Partners: World Bank Identification for Development (ID4D) and Digitalizing Government to Person Payments (G2Px) Initiatives
The evaluation examines the impact of the shift from ATM cards to biometric identification for Pakistan's unconditional cash transfer program delivery. The intervention ensures that women are personally present to receive the funds. The evaluation was carried out under the Pakistan National Social Protection Program.
Impact Evaluation of the BISP Recertification
Country: Pakistan
Status: Data collection completed (results forthcoming)
Partner: World Bank Social Policy Global Department
This evaluation examines the impact of the discontinuation of a cash transfer program on women in Pakistan who have been receiving transfers over a ten-year period. The evaluation was carried out under the Pakistan National Social Protection Program.
Impact Evaluation of the Punjab Human Capital Investment Project
Country: Pakistan
Status: In progress
Partners: World Bank Social Policy Global Department
The evaluation assesses the impact of Early Childhood Education, upgrading basic health units, conditional cash transfers for pregnant and lactating women, and an asset transfer package. The evaluation is being carried out as part of the World Bank’s Punjab Human Capital Investment Project.
Impact Evaluation of the BISP Hybrid Social Protection Savings Scheme
Country: Pakistan
Status: In progress
Partner: World Bank Social Policy Global Department
The evaluation assesses alternative approaches to supporting women to take up a hybrid social protection – commitment savings scheme offered by the Benazir Income Support Program. The evaluation is being carried out as part of the World Bank’s Crisis-Resilient Social Protection (CRISP) Project.
Other
Impact of Land Inheritance Records Digitization on Female Inheritance
Country: Pakistan
Status: Data collection completed (results forthcoming)
Partner: World Bank Identification for Development (ID4D) Initiative
The evaluation studies the effects of a land records reform in Punjab, Pakistan, on the de facto land rights of females who are legally entitled to a share of parental land. This reform digitized and centralized land records and created a biometric verification requirement intended to limit females' exclusion from the inheritance process. The evaluation was carried out in relation to the World Bank’s Punjab Land Records Management and Information Systems Project (LRMIS-P).
Incentivizing NGOs
A Field Experiment in Pakistan
Country: Pakistan
Status: Data collection completed (results forthcoming)
Partner: Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund III
The evaluation examines whether changing the reporting obligations and incentives for NGOs involved in the delivery of development assistance has an impact on their performance. The evaluation covers activities under the World Bank’s Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund III Project (PPAF), which engages local organizations to include and support women.
Institutional Capacity as an Organizational Challenge
A Field Experiment in Pakistan (PPAF PO)
Country: Pakistan
Status: Data collection completed (results forthcoming)
Partner: Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund III
This evaluation analyzes how each part of a large donor organization responds to new information on the performance of recipient organizations, and how these responses relate to certain organizational characteristics. The evaluation is being carried out based on work under the World Bank’s Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund III Project (PPAF).
Mobile Health for Female Community Health Workers Supporting Infant Feeding
Country: Pakistan
Status: In progress
Partner: UNICEF
This study evaluates the effects of a mobile application on maternal and child health outcomes. The app, designed by the Government of Punjab in partnership with UNICEF, aims to strengthen the knowledge and practice of female community health workers and improve their ability to offer rural patients effective and timely clinical advice on breastfeeding.