Anupma Jain, MCC Director of the Gender and Social Inclusion Practice Group, participated in Africa and Development, a seminar hosted by Syracuse University’s Maxwell School, discussing the role of gender and women in MCC’s investments in Africa.

1. Gender—Pivotal Role of Women in Stimulating
Development
Anupma Jain, Ph.D.
Practice Lead & Senior Director, Gender and Social Inclusion
Sector Operations, Department of Compact Operations, Millennium Challenge Corporation
Prospects for African Development, Syracuse University, Maxwell School, CSIS Building, Washington, DC, May 22-28, 2016
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2. Outline
• MCC commitment and approach to gender equality
• Integrating gender equality into MCC compacts
• Gender and other MCC initiatives
• MCC partnerships
• Country examples and lessons
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3. Why Gender Matters
•Gender inclusion is essential to growth – In some countries,
25% of GDP per capita is lost due to gender gaps in the labor
market.
•A recent McKinsey report found that if women participated in
the economy identically to men, it would add up to $28 trillion, or
26 percent, to annual global GDP by 2025.
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MCC’s Commitment to Gender Equality

4. Improved outcomes for the next generation
•Greater control over household resources by women can enhance
countries’ growth prospects by changing spending patterns in ways that
benefit children.
•Improvements in women’s education and health have been linked to
better outcomes for their children, lower child and maternal mortality
rates, lower fertility rates and greater work force participation.
•Productivity gains for the entire economy: Women represent about 45%
of the global labor force; economic productivity will be raised if their
skills and talents are supported to reach their full potential.
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MCC’s Commitment to Gender Equality

5. Improved outcomes for the next generation
•Greater control over household resources by women can enhance
countries’ growth prospects by changing spending patterns in ways that
benefit children.
•Improvements in women’s education and health have been linked to
better outcomes for their children, lower child and maternal mortality
rates, lower fertility rates and greater work force participation.
•Productivity gains for the entire economy: Women represent about 45%
of the global labor force; economic productivity will be raised if their
skills and talents are supported to reach their full potential.
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MCC’s Commitment to Gender Equality
It is smart
economics!

6. MCC’s Approach to Gender Equality
• MCC’s Gender Policy (2006)
o Integrated in the selection of eligible countries.
o Integrated into the development and design of compact programs, the assessment
and implementation of projects, the monitoring of results, and the evaluation of
impacts.
o https://assets.mcc.gov/guidance/mcc-policy-gender.pdf
• MCC’s Gender Integration Guidelines (2011)
o Bridge between the policy and operational practice.
o Milestones and operational procedures for each stage of compact development
and implementation.
o Benchmarks for achieving accountability for gender equality and social inclusion.
o https://assets.mcc.gov/guidance/guidance-2011001054001-genderintegration.pdf
• MCC’s Gender and Social Inclusion Practice Group

7. MCC’s Approach to Gender Equality
• Empowering people as drivers of growth and poverty reduction—men
and women.
• Focusing on women as economic actors because the costs of
exclusion of women from the productive economy remain enormous.
• Integrating women as partners and leaders in development of projects
and investments.
• Helping countries to identify and unlock the most binding constraints
on growth.
• Countries must pass a rigorous scorecard.
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8. Integrating Gender Equality into Compacts
• Five- year grants focused on poverty reduction through economic
growth
• Country eligibility based on having met minimum policy requirements:
1. Good governance, including a gender in the economy indicator
2. Economic freedom; and
3. Investment in people
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9. Gender and Compact Cycle
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Country
Eligibility
and
Selection
MCC’s Scorecard: Gender in
the Economy indictor. 6 of 20
MCC’s scorecard indicators
directly measure gender-
specific issues
Constraints
Analysis
Binding
constraints:
Integrate gender into
the analysis to see
how constraints
affect women and
girls. A gender and
social expert is
appointed onto the
country core team
Compact
Development
and Design
Project design: Integrate
gender equality measures
and actions into project
design—access,
opportunities, policy and
institutional reforms, budget,
and implementation
arrangements. Determine
conditions precedents, if any.
Monitoring
and
Evaluation
Monitoring and Evaluation:
Measure the impacts on
women and men as
projects are implemented
Sustainability
Closeout: Preparation
of a sustainability
plan, including one
specifically for gender
and social outcomes
Compact
Implementation
Project implementation: Implement and monitor gender activities
throughout. Social and Gender Integration Plan (2nd
condition for
disbursement). A gender and social expert is appointed as member of the
Millennium Challenge Account.
Poverty Reduction
through Economic
Growth

10. Gender and other MCC initiatives
• Women in Leadership
− MCC Leadership
− CEOs in MCC’s Millennium Challenge Accounts
• Female Workforce Participation Initiative
− Explores opportunities for employment in the construction sector
• Protecting Women from Negative Impacts
− MCC’s Counter Trafficking in Persons Policy 2014
− MCC’s Environment and Social Performance Practice Group on
environment, resettlement and vulnerable groups.
− Introducing clauses and specific measures into MCC’s procurement
documents.
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11. Gender and other MCC initiatives
• Promoting gender integration through social media and events
− MCC web-page: https://www.mcc.gov/initiatives/initiative/gender
− Twitter: @MCC_GSI
− International Women’s Day Event at SID-Washington, Gender and Social
Inclusion in Infrastructure
− 60th
Session of the UN Commission on Women, Side-event, Gender
Equality—Basis for Sustainable Infrastructure and Services
− Podcasts: Women on a Mission: https://www.mcc.gov/news-and-
events/feature/podcasts
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12. Women on a Mission
• Features conversations with notable women leaders
in international development that highlight their
extraordinary experiences, lessons learned and
personal journeys.
• Features five CEOs of our MCC’s Millennium
Challenge Accounts in our partner countries with
grants totaling more than $2 billion.
o Sophia Mohapi - CEO of MCA-Lesotho
o Bonaria Siahaan, CEO of MCA-Indonesia
o Valentina Badrajan, CEO of MCA-Moldova
o Pamela Bwalya, CEO of MCA-Zambia
o Marivic Anonuevo, CEO of MCA-Philippines
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https://www.mcc.gov/news-and-events/feature/podcasts

13. MCC Partnerships
• US Government Inter-Agency Collaboration (e.g., adolescent girls, Let
Girls Learn, gender based violence)
• Data 2x (UN Foundation initiative)
• PEPFAR
• Pursuing partnerships with other agencies
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14. Challenges in Zambia and Cabo Verde
Most of the burden for household water management and caring for the sick is
carried by women and girls

15. • National Reforms in
Cabo Verde
• Education and
Sanitation in
Zambia
Gender and Social Interventions

16. Social Access Fund outcomes in Cabo Verde
My happiness is huge, I feel so good!
This water is making me feel relaxed. I
have been spending some very happy
days since public network water was
connected to my house and a toilet
installed. I used to go door to door asking
for water what was a huge nuisance for my
daily affairs. I had no toilet and used the
outdoors for my needs… imagine a
woman of my age in this situation. Today I
am happy, I do not know how to express
my feeling today for having even a
showerhead.

17. Key Lessons from Cabo Verde and Zambia
• Common understanding of what gender and social inclusion means
in the sector
• Operational requirements that are gender responsive and socially
inclusive
• Institutional mainstreaming in agencies and utilities
• Data collection and use
• Strengthen capacity of communities
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18. Challenges in Ghana II

19. Inclusive
Consultations
and
Stakeholder
Engagement

20. Gender and Social Interventions
• Institutionalizing gender
responsiveness
• Including an access component
• Developing a social and gender
integration plan
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21. Key Lessons
• Data and Evidence
are critical to
influence decision
making;
• Understand the
sector; and
• Link gender and
social inclusion
evidence to economic
growth and poverty
reduction.

22. Challenges in Senegal
• Land allocation and property
rights
• How can project beneficiaries
be assured rights to their
land?
• How will those rights be
protected?
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23. Inclusive Project Design
• First compact to align its
staffing with the Gender
Integration Guidelines.
• Land Tenure Security
Activity looked to the
community
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24. Key Lessons
• Role and positioning of the MCA gender expert.
• Community engagement
https://www.mcc.gov/our-impact/story/story-land-and-land-rights-for-landless-of-senegal
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25. Lessons: Principles Into Practice Paper (2012)
1. Gender integration goes beyond risk management.
2. Gender integration is more than a focus on women.
3. Gender-neutral design is not neutral.
4. Country ownership can present challenges for social inclusion.
5. Relationships among growth, poverty reduction and gender equality
is a challenge.
6. Pushing the policy envelope advances gender equality.
7. Systematic and early gender integration is critical in infrastructure
projects.
8. Gender analysis is important to understanding results.
9. Making a gender policy operational really does matter.
https://assets.mcc.gov/reports/paper-2012001153101-principles-gender.pdf

26. http://freedom.areavoices.com/2016/05/13/freedom-friday-advancing-equity-and-inclusion/

27. Stay in touch and learn more at
www.MCC.gov