Camfield, L. (2013), “Growing up in Ethiopia and Andhra Pradesh: The Impact of Social Protection Schemes on Girls’ Roles and Responsibilities,” The European Journal of Development Research, 26(1), pp. 107–123.
The article explores the complex relationship between social protection schemes and girls’ work. It uses the power’s concept of social provisioning to highlight the exclusion of girls’ caring and unpaid labour. The paper uses quantitative and qualitative data collected by Young Lives over the period to explore whether social protection schemes are partially responsible for the premature transfer of responsibilities for social reproduction to the next generation.
Camfield argued that increasing participation in social protection is intended to enhance the development of girls in participating households, but evidence on their school participation and workloads suggests that the reverse may be happening. The paper states that gender-responsive social protection can improve women’s access to and control over income and assets, strengthen social networks, and improve women’s public, economic, social, and political status. The findings from the four case studies demonstrate a connection between social protection programmes and outcomes of social development, though perhaps not in the way that was intended.
Girls are finding it more difficult to attend school due to social protection failures, which has a negative effect on their academic performance and, in some cases, their health. In spite of the fact that this lessens the workload for girls in more remote areas, these unintended consequences are a result of both the “success” and “failure” of the schemes in that the poorest households now have access to more money. Camfield suggests addressing the unequal economic and social roles that are given to women compared to men by making sure that fair working conditions, equal pay policies, and access to affordable, high-quality care services are required.