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Joint Programme on Gender Transformative Approaches
for Food Security and Nutrition

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Malawi study and reflection workshop advance understanding of gendered social norms 

19 JULY 2022

Since September 2021, the JP GTA has been partnering with CARE International in Malawi to carry out a social norms diagnostic study in five districts. The objective of this study is to understand the gendered social norms that influence the financial inclusion of women and youth who are members of Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs).

By analyzing the existing gender norms and their impact on financial behaviors, the Joint Programme seeks to design and implement interventions that can help youth and women members of selected VSLAs in the districts of Balaka, Kasungu, Mangochi, Nsanje and Zomba to improve their financial inclusion.

To share the preliminary findings of the study, review their implications and determine possible programme adjustments, CARE facilitated a two-day reflection and Outcome Mapping workshop in Lilongwe in May 2022. Around 30 participants joined and contributed to the workshop, representing the United Nations (UN) Rome-based Agencies – FAO, IFAD and WFP – and other UN agencies, the European Union’s Delegation in Malawi, national authorities and universities, local and international NGOs, as well as financial service providers.

“Evidence shows that social norms are key drivers of the financial inclusion gender gap. However, despite such evidence, financial inclusion programming still does not systematically analyze or widely incorporate the influence of gender norms,” explained Loïs Archimbaud, FAO’s member of the JP GTA Technical Advisory Committee.

CARE used the Outcome Mapping methodology to facilitate the workshop process. Outcome Mapping is oriented toward organizational learning and adaptive management and is often applied when an intervention focuses on changed behaviours or relationships, which may evolve or emerge in a non-linear way.

In closing remarks, FAO’s Head of Technical Unit and Gender Focal Point in Malawi, Yvonne Mmangisa, thanked the workshop participants for their insights and recommendations. “On behalf of the UN Rome-based Agencies, I look forward to continuing or starting collaborating with as many of you as possible in the framework of the Joint Programme and beyond, to improve the well-being and food and nutrition security of the rural people in Malawi,” she concluded.

Learning by doing

The social norms diagnostic study is a key activity of the Joint Programme’s work in its two focus countries, Ecuador and Malawi. As this was the first time the UN Rome-based Agencies engaged in a systematic social norms diagnostic study, learning from the process and methodology also constituted an objective unto itself.

The JP GTA’s diagnostic study in Malawi is also being carried out as part of the Social Norms Diagnostic Co-Lab. This Co-Lab is a peer-learning effort initiated by CGAP and its FinEquity community of practice that seeks to generate new insights, create an evidence base and share lessons on the impact of gender norms on women’s access and use of financial services. It has brought together six participating organizations – among which the JP GTA – who are conducting research in Bangladesh, India, Malawi, Rwanda, Tunisia and Zambia, respectively.

Through their research, the six partners are replicating and testing diagnostic guidelines that were developed by CGAP to better understand the gendered social norms that shape women’s financial behaviors and opportunities. Furthermore, the Co-Lab is an opportunity for the organizations to learn and exchange knowledge on their research findings as well as the methodology.

 

Image: © CARE Malawi

 

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