Implementing Multiple Gender Strategies to Improve HIV and ... - ICRW

$45,000
$40,000
$35,000
$30,000
$25,000
$20,000
$15,000
$10,000
$5,000
$-
Quarterly Sales of Women First Network in
Zambezia Province (USD)
2007-Q1 2007-Q2 2007-Q3 2007-Q4 2008-Q1
USD
Figure 1. 2007 Quarterly Sales of the Women First Program
Replication and
Scale-up Activities
This program has not yet been replicated or scaled up.
LESSONS LEARNED AND CHALLENGES
Key Findings and
Lessons
• The most important lesson is the value of the income-generation
component. This results-oriented component attracted women and
shaped program identity. It showed that changes in women’s lives can
happen, and when coupled with peer support and increased
knowledge, they can alter gender norms. Economic power in the hands
of women was the catalyst for Women First’s success.
• Groups at the beginning of the program that received HIV and genderbased
violence education without the income generation component
attracted low levels of participation compared to the groups that had
this component. This suggests the importance of including income
generation in future approaches to address gender.
• The program has the best results when applied to women’s groups that
have strong solidarity and low levels of internal conflict. Through
implementation, IRD staff learned to select groups that have high levels
of coherence even if their commercial potential seemed lower. These
are the ones that end up having a high level of sales and high peer-topeer
assistance.
• Because the local markets in Zambézia province sell products that are
included in the Women First portfolio at very high prices, the Women
First program can save families as much as 35 percent for products
that households use daily.
Challenges and
Unforeseen
Outcomes
• Willingness for change can be a better predictor of success than
experience. At the beginning of the program, women with
entrepreneurial experience were selected on the assumption that they
were more likely to succeed. However, women who had no previous
entrepreneurial experience ended up achieving the highest level of
commercial success. These women were the ones that needed the
program the most and invested a lot of time and effort to improve their
economic status.
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