Speaker

Ms Megan Espana
PhD Candidate
The Ohio State University

Exploring the financial utilization and income autonomy of female sex workers in Mumbai

Abstract Narrative

“Background and Significance: Poverty and gender inequality are the greatest reason for entry into sex work for women in India. The migration from rural villages to urban areas allow for women to enter into sex work as a mean to provide for themselves and their children, some who reside in the red-light areas and others who live with family members in villages. Because of this, female sex workers (FSWs) in India are influential in remitting income from urban to rural areas. However, women in India experience greater challenges and overall lower use rates of accessible financial services compared to men in India. This research explored the structural factors that shape the knowledge and ability to remit earned income by migrant FSWs to their dependents and family members. The objectives of this research were to: (1) Explore how FSWs utilized their income (2) Examine the ability of FSWs to remit income (3) Explore social challenges that prevent income utilization or remittance. Methods: This study was conducted with 15 FSWs in the red-light district of Kamatipura, India. Fifteen in-depth interviews were conducted from November to December 2019 in Hindi. Respondents provided oral consent and permission to record the interviews. The age of the respondents ranged from 18-30 years (M=22). The majority of the respondents were from Eastern and Southern rural areas of India. All interviews were translated and transcribed and input into NVivo for thematic analysis. Results: Three themes emerged from the analysis. The first theme identified was providing for children. The respondents discussed their primary use of income was for children’s school fees and food, while for a few respondents, they also provided for parents and siblings. The second theme was the approach to remittance. The majority of respondents did not have a bank account. It was common to send cash through friends or acquaintances. For those who did have accounts, they were assisted by a social worker to create an account and learn how to make transfers. The third emerging theme involved the use of income. Most of the respondents shared their control over their earnings and the power to make decisions about the use of the income. Discussion Overall, the findings indicate greater support for financial access and literacy for FSWs. Greater services are needed to enhance the financial capabilities of FSWs, including holding a bank account, saving money, creating a budget, and remitting income. Since FSWs are stigmatized they may be observed as incapable, yet it is critical to provide these skills as well as to empower FSWs to control their earnings through negotiation training. Findings from this study can be used to inform social workers about the importance of advocating for FSWs and to assist with the development of financial education and interventions, specifically for women, migrants, and sex workers. ”

Biography

Megan Espana is a PhD Candidate in the College of Social Work at the Ohio State University. Her research interests included human rights for women and migrants from an international perspective.

Dr Felix Muchomba
Assistant Professor
Rutgers University

The effect of women’s schooling on household poverty

Abstract Narrative

“A well-documented negative association exists between education and poverty in sub- Saharan Africa. Several studies also report that the association is stronger for female education than male education. This evidence has been used to support targeting educational expenditures towards girls. However, a shortcoming of previous studies is that they are correlational and thus the association between education and poverty may be confounded by other factors. Confounding may be a larger issue for girls’ education because girls in most countries in sub- Saharan Africa are less likely to be educated than boys and their education may be more strongly determined by family or community characteristics. The effect of girls’ schooling on poverty is an important empirical question because governments and families invest considerable resources in education. If girls’ schooling reduces poverty later in adulthood, that would contribute to understanding of the benefits of educational investments. The current study examines this issue in Ethiopia, a country with high poverty rates, and some of the lowest levels of women’s educational attainment in the world. The study addresses the shortcoming of previous research by examining a large-scale education investment program in Ethiopia in the late 1990’s. As a result of the reform, girls’ primary school enrollment in targeted areas surged and the years of completed schooling for the affected cohort of girls increased markedly compared to the cohorts born a few years earlier. The study uses data from the Ethiopia Socioeconomic Survey, fielded in 2011, 2013, and 2015 to compare household wealth between two groups of women: those who were exposed to the reform in childhood and those not exposed because they were past school-age at the time of the reforms. The primary outcome of interest is household wealth which was measured using an index of household assets, and housing characteristics including, water access and sanitation facilities. Women in the sample had on average 3.7 (SD 4.9) years of schooling and less than a quarter (23%) of the sample had completed primary education. Results from multivariable regression analysis show that the reforms were associated with a 38% increase in years of schooling, a large (11 percentage-point) increase in primary school completion, and higher household wealth. The study results indicate that investment in girls’ education can yield dividends in the form of improved household economic standing later in adulthood, and that there are long-term benefits to education that should be part of the cost-benefit analysis of education spending. A long-term holistic view of how government action can influence poverty is a useful arsenal in efforts to address asset poverty.”

Prof Tanusha Raniga
Academic
University Of Johannesburg

Sustainable Livelihoods, Poverty Alleviation and women entrepreneurs: The case study of an NGO in promoting entrepreneurship in South Africa

Abstract Narrative

The COVID health crisis has perpetuated unemployment of women, the gender segmentation of work in the informal economy and the burdens of income insecurity in female-headed households. As a key strategy to mitigate the feminisation of poverty, many women from low income communities have opted to start entrepreneurship projects to facilitate economic independence and self-empowerment. The role of non-government organisations is imminent in supporting women entrepreneurial activities and to facilitate economic empowerment and social inclusion of women from low income communities. This qualitative study aimed to identify the factors that promote women entrepreneurship in South Africa. The case study of women entrepreneurs who received business training, mentoring and psychosocial support at an NGO, operating in multiple provinces in South Africa, have been explored through in-depth interviews and focus groups. The findings revealed that entrepreneurial learning occurs because of personal, social and economic driven motivational factors. Entrepreneurial learning helps in the development of personal, social, managerial and entrepreneurial skills development. These human capital competencies were perceived by the women as essential for the long-term sustainability of their entrepreneurial projects. This paper contributes to the conference sub-theme: financial capability and asset building and presents empirical evidence from 25 women entrepreneurs and eight branch managers employed at an NGO. The paper provides insights into the business training programs implemented at the NGO, taking into account changes to recruitment procedures amidst the COVID crisis. This paper contributes to the discourses on gender development and social development. Suggestions are made for social workers and policy makers to support asset building and sustainable livelihoods as integral to women-led entrepreneurial projects and are highlighted.

Biography

Professor Tanusha Raniga teaches social work and community development at the University of Johannesburg. She is a C2 NRF Rated Researcher. She is a recipient of the National Association of South African Education Institutions Young Up and Coming Award and the University of KwaZulu-Natal Award for Outstanding Contribution to the School of Applied Human Sciences in the College of Humanities. Dr. Raniga has served as Treasurer and a Board Member of the Association for Schools of Social Work in Africa (ASSWA) from 2010 to 2020. She is actively involved in research primarily in the area of social protection policy and feminization of poverty and sustainable livelihoods. She has published widely in national and international journals and has presented at Social Work conferences. Her teaching areas include: Social Policy, Development Management and Integrated Social and Community Development.

Prof Anna Maria Santiago
Associate Dean For Research And Graduate Studies
Michigan State University

U.S. Family Self-Sufficiency Programs as Vehicles for Building Assets in Vulnerable Families: Lessons from Denver

Abstract Narrative

Background
U.S. housing policy has shifted from solely providing housing assistance to financial capability and asset building approaches to promote economic security and upward mobility among vulnerable families. The Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) Program was created in the early 1990s to enhance financial independence and asset building among subsidized housing families in the United States. The value of asset accumulation for vulnerable families has been the subject of scholarly and policy debate – a debate renewed with the Global Financial Crisis in 2008 and its lingering effects on low-income families. Questions also remain about FSS program impacts. This study assesses the impact of FSS participation on (1) savings growth; (2) credit and debt reduction; (3) employment and earnings; and (4) economic security exits that include purchasing a home or moving out of subsidized housing to pursue educational or job opportunities.

Methods
Administrative data from the 2007-2012 participants (N=424) in the Denver Housing Authority’s FSS Program are used to estimate program impacts. Propensity score analysis using one-to-one nearest neighbor matching techniques was employed to measure program impact at different levels of program participation. High-intensity FSS program completers were matched with a comparison group of program non-completers on a common set of program characteristics (start year, DHA housing type) and participant characteristics (age, ethnicity, gender, educational attainment, marital status, family size, full-time employment, and earnings at time of program entry). The impact parameter used is the average treatment effect on the treated (ATET), estimated by a difference in means across matched samples.

Results
Relative to the comparison group, FSS program completers accrued nearly $13,000 more in their escrow savings accounts, reduced contractual debt by $3,660 more, and were twice as likely to reduce their contractual debt to less than 15% of gross monthly income.
61% of FSS completers decreased their derogatory debt by more than 25% — 17 percentage points more than non-completers. FSS completers experienced 35 point gains in credit scores and 61% attained credit scores above 620 –about 40 points higher than non-completers. Almost 92% of FSS completers were employed full time since enrollment – 26 percentage points more than the comparison group. On average, FSS completers experienced gains in monthly income of $1,130 and total income of $8,800 more than non-completers. More than one out of four FSS completers purchased a home and another 26% moved out of DHA housing in order to pursue education or job opportunities; among non-completers, none had purchased homes and only 5% had moved out of DHA.

Implications
Findings suggest that intensive participation in the FSS programs yields significantly greater benefits to participants. FSS compliers experienced greater decreases in contractual and derogatory debt as well as greater gains in escrow savings, credit scores, earnings and employment, homeownership, and moves out of DHA to pursue educational or job opportunities. These gains occurred in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis and suggest that FSS programs operating within public housing authorities may be promising vehicles for promoting asset building among public housing residents and their families.

Supporting Document

Biography

Anna Maria Santiago is a professor of community practice at Michigan State University. Her research is concerned with identifying the ways in which contemporary housing and poverty policies can be used to reduce the social and economic disparities experienced by vulnerable families and children residing in urban areas, increase access to opportunity-rich neighborhoods, and build financial capability and assets. Her publications include numerous peer-reviewed articles, books, book chapters, and reports. She earned her PhD in urban social institutions from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Dr Bonita Sharma
Assistant Professor
University Of Texas At San Antonio

Labor Force Participation, Land and Asset Ownership Associated with Women’s Power and Experiences of Gender Based Violence in the Sub-Saharan nations of Kenya, Malawi, and Uganda

Abstract Narrative

“Background: Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is a human rights issue and a global public health problem (Ellsberg et al., 2008). The United Nations (UN) defines act of violence against women in Article 1 of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (1993) as one “that results in, or is likely to result in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivations of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life” (UN, 2011, p.5). GBV is also a symptom of power imbalance and gender-based inequity with more than 30% to 60% percent of women reporting some form of violence in their lifetime in Malawi, Kenya, and Uganda (Borwankar, et al., 2008). Research has shown that economically empowered women and those who have land and assets are less likely to experience GBV (Mejia et. al., 2014). We use theory of gender and power as well as marital dependency to test a unique conceptual model in understanding GBV in three different countries: Malawi, Uganda, and Kenya. These countries were chosen because of their cultural relevance, as well as the percent distribution of women involved in service sector industries, their ownership of land and GBV prevalence rates (Borwankar, 2008; UN, 2011). Improving our understanding on the power differences in women’s autonomy due to formal labor force participation and land/asset ownerships may provide insights in addressing GBV. Method: Data for this study are from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) for Kenya (2014), Malawi (2016), and Uganda (2016).The survey is based on a nationally representative probability sample of ever-married women from Kenya (5265), Uganda (2479), and Malawi (3806) aged 15-54 years. We report findings from the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and the final model test using structural equation modeling (SEM). All items related to women’s autonomy loaded at values greater than 0.4. Goodness-of-fit (GFI) and adjusted goodness-of-fit (AGFI) were above the suggested normative value of 0.9 (GFI = 0.950, and AGFI = 0.91). In the three-factor model of labor force participation, built assets, and education, labor force participation has a positive association while the latter two are negatively associated with GBV construct across three countries. This preliminary analysis suggest that labor force participation may not necessarily decrease GBV. However, this phenomenon must be studied with other mediating factors to further understand the pathways to GBV. Conclusion: Implications of this study is particularly important to social workers and to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals 5 on gender equality in addressing GBV and poverty as an overarching goal. Continued research in understanding factors associated with gender inequities, poverty and pathways to addressing GBV can provide policy makers and practitioners better tools to address GBV effectively. References Ellsberg, M., Jansen, H. A., Heise, L., Watts, C. H., Garcia-Moreno, C., &WHO Multi-country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence against Women Study Team. (2008). Intimate partner violence and women’s physical and mental health in the WHO multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence: An observational study. The Lancet, 371(9619), 1165-1172. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(08)60522-X. Borwankar, R., Diallo, R., Sommerfelt, A.E. (2008). Gender-based violence in sub-Saharan Africa: A review of demographic and health survey findings and their use in national planning. Mejia,C., Cannon, A., Zietz, S., Arcara, j., & Abdur-Rahman, A. (2014). Perspectives on Gender-Based Violence and Women’s Economic Empowerment in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Opportunities. United Nations. (2011). United Nations System Efforts to Address Violence Against Women. Congressional Research Report. New York, United Nations. ”

Biography

Dr. Sharma’s research focuses on socio-economic and environmental factors in wellbeing. Her main focus is on these issues related to local and global women’s contexts.