Girls’ economic empowerment: results of a global project and insights in the underlying partnership

• In Event: Roundtable Session (Monday II)

Group Submission Type: Refereed Round-Table Session

Proposal

Poverty, youth drop-out before secondary school, early marriage, residing in rural areas, parental education level, number of working adults in the household, lack of school access, low educational quality and political instability are the most commonly cited reasons regarding low global educational levels and economic activities amongst youth in general.

Young women and girls in particular are more likely to be excluded from primary education and even less likely to attend secondary school. In many cases, the causes and effects of gendered educational disparity are exacerbated by a perpetuation of deeply rooted cultural and religious constraints, and parenting patterns. Prevailing norms on gender discrimination can strongly mediate the returns to education for those affected groups.

Adolescence is a vital period for preparing for adulthood. This is especially true for girls, for whom education or economic participation in adolescence can help overcome barriers to economic gains in adulthood. The benefits of investing in girls and women can be transformational for their own lives and for their families, communities, societies and economies.

Educational interventions that focus on life skills and financial education are increasingly being provided to adolescent girls to address this issue. They aim to influence choices about continuing education, starting a family and entry into the labour market. In this light, this panel aims to:
• present preliminary results on the implementation of a financial education and life skills programme for girls in 2 countries that started in 2018;
• present endline results from 4 countries that implemented the same programme;
• provide insight in the partnership that underlies the delivery of the programme across 6 countries and some Though Leadership that is conducted in the context of this project.

The Credit Suisse Financial Education and Life Skills (FELS) program for adolescent girls was launched in June 2014, with partner organizations Plan International UK and Aflatoun International. The programme has been implemented in Brazil, China, India and Rwanda, providing approximately 100,000 girls with financial education and life skills. In 2018, Room to Read joined the partnership with programmes in Tanzania and Sri Lanka. Aiming to increase both the financial capability of girls and their awareness of their social and economic rights, the programme aims to empower the next generation of women to achieve better futures for themselves and their communities.

The moderator will provide a brief overview of the Credit Suisse FELS initiative. Then, the first panelist will provide a brief overview of the FELS program design and implementation which started in 2018 in Sri Lanka and Tanzania. Subsequently, she will provide preliminary results of the programme intervention across both countries.

The second panellist will share the end-line research results of the programme implemented in Brazil, India, China and Rwanda. Qualitative and quantitative evidence provide insight in the effectiveness and impact of the programme on girls in the four countries. The panelists will also present key learnings and successes vis a vis the sustainability of programme activities.
The third panellist will introduce the partnership underlying the implementation of a global social and financial education project for girls, discuss the different phases the partnership has gone through, and debate how to ensure a sustainable partnership. Finally, the panellist will present some of the Thought Leadership that is conducted in the context of this project.

Sub Unit

• Committee: Gender & Education

Chair

• Ryan Hebert, Room to Read

Individual Presentations

• Girls’ Economic Empowerment: implementation results across 2 countries - Linda Tran, Room to Read; Ryan Hebert, Room to Read

• Girls’ Economic Empowerment: implementation results across 4 countries - Nicola Hughes, Plan International UK

• Girls’ Economic Empowerment: partnership and Thought Leadership results - Aukje te Kaat, Aflatoun International