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South Asia Gender Innovation Lab

Publications

Policy Briefs
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Girls' Lived Experiences of School Closures

Insights from Interviews with Girls and Mothers in Punjab, Pakistan (2022)

This brief outlines the findings of a study that, through interviews with mothers and daughters via phone, assessed the lived experience of girls and changes in household dynamics in response to the mandated COVID-19 school closures in Punjab, Pakistan.

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Women's Employment and Safety Perceptions

Evidence from Low-income Neighborhoods of Dhaka, Bangladesh (2021)

The research showcased in this brief uses the 2018 Dhaka Low-Income Area Gender, Inclusion, and Poverty (DIGNITY) survey to assess the gender gap in safety perceptions and analyze the correlation between women’s safety perception and their labor market outcomes.  

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Impacts of COVID-19 on Labor Markets and Household Well-Being in Pakistan

Evidence from an Online Job Platform (2021)

The analysis presented in this brief uses the administrative database of Pakistan’s largest online job platform and an online COVID-19 survey to examine the gendered impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on labor markets and other well-being indicators.

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Effects of a Multifaceted Education Program on Enrollment, Learning, and Gender Equity

Evidence from Rajasthan, India (2020)

This note documents the results of an experiment in 229 schools in rural Rajasthan, India, which measured the effects of a multifaceted educational program on students’ school participation and academic performance, as well as its heterogeneous impacts by gender and initial learning ability.

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Adolescence in the Time of COVID-19

Evidence from Bangladesh (2020)

This note reports the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent economic and educational disruptions on adolescent well-being in Bangladesh by gender and level of household vulnerability. 

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SMS Girl Data Insights

February 2022

This brief summarizes the findings from four surveys in Punjab, Pakistan, examining the effectiveness of text messages to parents in supporting adolescent girls' education during and after COVID-19 school closures.

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How has COVID-19 affected support for girls' education in Punjab, Pakistan? (2021)

This brief presents initial findings from an ongoing phone survey of 5,898 families in Punjab, Pakistan, to assess the state of girls’ elementary school education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Program Targeting with Machine Learning and Mobile Phone Data

Program Targeting with Machine Learning and Mobile Phone Data (2022)

This brief reports the findings of a study in Afghanistan, which examined whether machine learning applications using non-traditional mobile phone data can be leveraged as a complement to, or a substitute for, traditional methods for targeting program recipients, particularly ultra-poor women. 

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Using Biometrics to Deliver Cash Payments to Women: Early Results from an Impact Evaluation in Pakistan (2022)

This brief showcases the results of an evaluation that quantified the impact of adopting a biometric verification system in an unconditional cash transfer program in Pakistan which required female beneficiaries to collect funds in person.

The Gendered Impact of COVID-19 on Adolescents’ Education and School-toWork Transitions in Bangladesh

The Gendered Impact of COVID-19 on Adolescents' Education and School-to-Work Transitions in Bangladesh (2021)

This brief presents the results of a survey of 2,000 students in Bangladesh to understand the differentiated impact of the pandemic on male and female adolescents. The survey was conducted as part of the Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) study.

Adolescents’ experiences of covid-19 and the public health response in urban Dhaka, Bangladesh

Adolescents' experiences of COVID-19 and the public health response in urban Dhaka, Bangladesh (2020)

This factsheet provides a snapshot of adolescents’ knowledge and attitudes towards COVID-19 in Bangladesh, and presents key findings on the pandemic's impact on, among others, education; health; psychosocial well-being; economic empowerment; and voice and agency. The impacts are analyzed by age, gender, and marital status.

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Care Work and Intra-Household Tensions during COVID-19

Evidence from an Online Survey of Gig Workers in India (2020)

Gender disparities in care work and intra-household tensions rose among online gig workers in India during COVID-19. This brief outlines some of the impacts of lockdown measures based on a survey of 1,168 online workers.



© World Bank

Stories From the Field is a podcast hosted by the South Asia Gender Innovation Lab that documents the experiences of key stakeholders and beneficiaries engaged in designing, implementing, and participating in women’s groups in South Asia. 

 

Hosts: Najaf Zahra and Ayesha Tahir 

Producer: Serenat Kivilcim

Editor: Christopher Jeremy Cymbalak

 

Listen to the Trailer


Episode 1: Women’s Groups in South Asia – a Magic Bullet or a Missing Piece of the Puzzle?

Guest speakers Thomas de Hoop and Sapna Desai present their recent work to create a typology of women’s groups in South Asia.

 

 


Episode 2: Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom

Guest speakers Mohammad Imtiaz Akhtar Alvi and Melissa Williams, explore the design modalities of women’s groups and the impact they have created in Pakistan through the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund project


Episode 3: Sisters' Nest

Through interviews conducted by the SAR GIL team, this episode brings forth the stories of women beneficiaries who have joined women's groups in Pakistan and have experienced significant benefits.