Paper short abstract:

This study explores how and why different gender design features of PSNP have evolved over time in view of the competing beliefs, policy preferences, and influences of various actors.

Paper long abstract:

Recent years have witnessed increased global attention and investment in integrating gender into the design of social protection interventions. But this is not an easy task as such efforts inevitably interplay with national values, preferences, and beliefs around the position of women in society. It is thus an important task to learn more about the policy processes that lead to the institutionalization of gender-responsive social protection. This paper, therefore, analyses the decision-making processes that have led to the integration of gender in the policy design of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP). The study forms part of the Gender-Responsive and Age-Sensitive Social Protection (GRASSP) research programme, a five-year programme, led by UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti, and funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). Based on a range of key informant interviews, a high-level stakeholder workshop, and the analysis of key policy documents, the paper provides detailed insights into the evolving policy negotiations between multiple national and international actors with different preferences, beliefs, and influences. It shows that as a result of the complex policy design negotiations, the PSNP has become an increasingly complex policy instrument with a jamboree of gender provisions with different objectives, underlying values, and backed by different development actors.