Girls’ Economic Empowerment – the Role of

Context in Financial Education

Aukje te Kaat, Research Manager, Af latoun International

YouthPower Webinar - Skills Development and Economic Opportunity for Young Women7 March 2017

Financial Education for Girls

Improve the financial education and life

skills of approximately 100,000 adolescent

girls

Support approximately 100,000 girls to

transition to, or remain in, secondary

school

Advocate at local and national levels to

create a positive environment for girls’

education

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“Access to financial and social assets is essential to helping youth make their

own economic decisions and escape poverty.”

- UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in 2013

Phase I: Literature Review (published and available:

aflatoun.box.com/v/Policy-Brief-Adolescent-Girls)

Phase II: In-Country Research (in progress):

Four case studies in India, China, Rwanda, Brazil

A synthesis summarizing key global findings/common lessons

learnt across the 4 countries.

Financial Education for Girls: Research

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We identified the most promising models for girl economic empowerment

that include financial education;

Mapped the outcomes;

Identified the contextual factors;

Defined a theory of change;

Determined focus of Phase II: follow-up research in Brazil, China, India

and Rwanda.

Phase I: Literature Review

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Phase I: Results

Twelve studies were found; these were programs implemented and evaluated in Africa and Asia,

with 83% focusing solely on female participants, and 3 studies ongoing.

5

AF

VF

MF

SF

HF

Microfinance

Vocational training

Account/ Access

Social education

Health education

Phase I: Intervention Logic

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AF

VF

MF

SF

HF

Microfinance

Vocational training

Account/ Access

Social education

Health education

Phase I: Intervention Logic

Consensus that girls’

economic

empowerment

programs should

cover non-economic

topics;

Looking at the most

rigorous studies,

results show that the

3 programs with social

components were

more successful;

Two of these 3

programs included a

health component.

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Theory of Change

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Project design: Understand the context (buy-in community, learning

environment, gender dynamics);

Policy: Coordinated action between health and educational

authorities;

Research: Understand the differential effect of the inclusion of boys;

and address under-studied outcomes.

Key Recommendations: Project, Pol icy and Research

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“Besides access to quality education, what are the contextual factors Financial

Education and Life Skills training programs need to understand and address –

and how – to be fully effective in empowering girls economically?”

Brazil: (How) can community buy-in help improve the learning environment for Financial Education

and Life Skills delivery towards enhanced girl economic empowerment?

China: (How) can the combined delivery of Financial Education and Life Skills and career

guidance/counselling enable left-behind girls to overcome marginalisation and address barriers to

education and empowerment?

India: Which community perceptions are the biggest obstacles to girls’ acquisition of Financial

Education and Life Skills and how can they be addressed to enhance girl economic empowerment?

Rwanda: (How) do Boys’ and Girls’ Positive Masculinity and Leadership Clubs’ work on gender

norms interact with students’ acquisition of Financial Education and Life Skills to impact on girl

economic empowerment?

Phase II: In-Country Follow-up Research

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Thank you

Contact: Aukje te Kaat - Research Manager,

Aflatoun International - Mail: aukje@aflatoun.org

Contact: Clare Daly – Sr. Corporate Partnerships

Executive, Plan International UK – Mail:

clare.daly@plan-uk.org

www.aflatoun.org/girls-economic-empowerment

Appendix: Limitations

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Age group of 10-18 years: considerable variations age range;

The interventions are an intermediate step towards economic

empowerment – long term longitudinal research is required to

assess the actual impact on economic empowerment;

Out of 12 included studies, three of the key studies (RCTs) were

still ongoing.

Appendix: Methodology (Realist Review)

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Structured searches as well as purposive sampling:

Structured search: 4545 hits

Five bibliographic databases: PsychInfo, EconLit, ERIC, JSTOR, SSRN

Purposive sampling and grey literature search: 8638 hits

Ten grey literature databases: Google Scholar, Eldis, Youth Employment

Inventory, 3ie Impact Evaluations, Financial Capability Database, OECD,

Ideas Repec, AfricaLib, INFLIBNET, Digital Educational Resource Archive

Organizational websites, professional outreach, snowballing and reverse citation

Population: girls 10-18

years;

Intervention: Stage 1

Interventions that include

educational component;

Stage 2 Interventions that

specifically include financial

education component

Primary Outcomes:

Economic Empowerment (via

Life Skills, Social Education

or others)

Secondary Outcomes:

Health/HIV, Education, Life

Skills, Microfinance,

Vocational Skills,

Empowerment

Appendix: Methodology (Study Selection Criteria)

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# Title Author Year Study Design Location Sample Size Gender Age Range

1 Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (AGEP)

Zambia

Austrian, K. 2011-2017 RCT (Intervention) Zambia, Africa 10000 Girls only 10 -19

2 Livelihoods Skill Building Intervention Kalyanwala et al. 2006

Mixed methods cohort

study (Observational) India, Asia 418 Girls only 13-19

3 Women’s Empowerment in Action: Evidence from

a Randomized Controlled Trial in Africa

Bandiera, O. et al. 2014 RCT (Intervention) Uganda, Africa 5966 (T= 3964;

C=2002)

Girls only 14-20

4 Safe and Smart Savings Products for Vulnerable

Adolescent Girls in Kenya and Uganda

Austrian, K. &

Muthengi, E. 2013 Case study

(Observational)

Kenya, Uganda,

Africa

4 programs (2 in

each country)

Girls only 10-19

5 Girls Empowered by Microfranchise (GEM) Ipapa, G. &

Mukami, E.

2012-2018 RCT (Intervention) Kenya, Africa 800 (T=400;

C=400)

Girls only 16-19

6 Imagining the Future: Community Perceptions of a

Family-Based Economic Empowerment

Intervention for AIDS-orphaned adol in Uganda

Ismayilova, L. et al. 2012 Qualitative

(Observational)

Uganda, Africa 96 (T=50; C=46) Girls and

boys

12-17

7 Integrating Adolescent Livelihood Activities within

a Reproductive Health Program for Urban Slum

Dwellers in India

Sebastian et al. 2004 Quasi-experimental

study, in-depth

interviews

(Observational)

India, Asia 3199 Girls and boys 14-19

8 Building a Brighter Future: Experimental Evidence

on the Impact of Financial Education and

Reproductive Health Education for Adolescent

Girls in Tajikistan

Jean-Baptiste, R. et

al.

2014 Cluster RCT

(Intervention)

Tajikistan, Asia 1208 (T=608;

C=600)

Girls only 14-18

9 Addressing Comprehensive Needs of Adolescent

Girls in India: a Potential for Creating Livelihoods

Nanda, P. et al. 2013 Review of reviews India, Asia 25 programs Girls only 10-30

10 Liberia Sisters of Success (SOS)

International

Rescue Committee

(IRC)

2013-2017 RCT (Intervention) Liberia, Africa 2880 Girls only

12- 15

11 Biruh Tesfa (‘Bright Future’) Program A. Gebru H.,

Mekonnen G.

2011 Quasi-experimental

(Intervention)

Ethiopia, Africa Benefitted over

31,000 girls

Girls only 10-19

12 Enhancing Adolescent Financial Capabilities

through Financial Education in Bangladesh

Amin S. et al. 2010 Mixed methods cohort

study (Observational)

Bangladesh, Asia 591 Girls only 14-19

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