This document discusses the importance of applying an equity lens to social protection programs and policies. Social protection aims to prevent and reduce poverty and social exclusion. An equity lens is important because vulnerable groups like women, people with disabilities, and other marginalized populations experience higher poverty rates and face structural barriers to accessing resources. While 27.8% of people with severe disabilities are covered by social protection globally, coverage must expand to address inequities and the underlying drivers of inequality in order to achieve social justice and equitable outcomes through the transformative role that social protection can play.

1. unite for
children
Applying an Equity Lens for Development and
Social Protection
Tia Palermo, Ph.D.
UNICEF Office of Research—Innocenti
Transfer Project
National Social Protection Conference
Addis Ababa
May 13, 2019

2. 2
Social protection: set of policies and programs
aimed at preventing or protecting all people
against poverty, vulnerability and social exclusion
throughout their lifecycle, with a particular
emphasis towards vulnerable groups (UNICEF,
2019).

3. 3
Why is an equity lens important?
• Higher poverty rates
• Structural constraints impede access to:
• productive assets (land, credit)
• physical, social and human capital assets (health,
nutrition, education)
• Sustainable poverty reduction cannot be
achieved without addressing inequities related to
gender, disability & related drivers of
marginalization
Holmes, R., & Jones, N. (2013). Gender and social protection in the developing world: beyond
mothers and safety nets. Zed Books Ltd..

4. 4
27.8% of persons with severe disabilities have
social protection coverage globally

5. 5
Non-contributory social protection programmes, by target
group in Africa
Source: Cirillo and Tebaldi (2016). Social Protection in Africa: Inventory of Non-Contributory Programmes. International
Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth. United Nations Development Programme.

6. 6
Why is an equity lens important?
• “Social protection has yet to fully realise its potential to address
the underlying causes of vulnerability and the drivers of
inequality to achieve social justice and socially equitable
outcomes” (Holmes and Jones 2013)
• Transformative role of Social Protection: “provide social
equity to protect people against risks such as discrimination or
abuse” (Devereux and Sabates-Wheeler 2004)
• Powerful synergies between the “economic” (protective,
preventive, promotive) and “social” (transformative) roles of
social protection programming

7. 7
References
• Cirillo and Tebaldi (2016). Social Protection in Africa: Inventory of
Non-Contributory Programmes. International Policy Centre for
Inclusive Growth. United Nations Development Programme.
• Devereux S and Sabates-Wheeler R. (2004). Transformative Social
Protection. IDS Working Paper 232. Sussex: Institute of Development
Studies.
• Holmes, R. and N. Jones (2013). Gender and social protection in the
developing world: beyond mothers and safety nets, Zed Books Ltd.
• ILO. (2017). World Social Protection Report 2017-19. Geneva: ILO.
• UNICEF. (2019). UNICEF’s Social Protection Programme Framework
2019. New York: UNICEF.

8. 8
Tia Palermo
tmpalermo@unicef.org
@TransferProjct
transfer.cpc.unc.edu
THANK YOU