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The Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women (GrOW Phase II)—East Africa is a research initiative focusing on unpaid care work, gender segregation of work, and women’s collective agency to address persistent gender economic gaps. It was launched in 2020 to spur transformative change and advance gender equality in the world of work in Eastern Africa.
The project fostered partnerships with local communities, public and private sector actors and civil society organisations to identify and scale up successful solutions to achieve women’s economic empowerment (WEE) and gender equality in the world of work. Policy engagement was an integral component of moving evidence into policy and practice.
Grow Phase II—EA has convened an end-of-cycle workshop to bring together grantees and actors in the women’s economic empowerment field to share knowledge and experiences on the projects they implemented.
This is to invite the press to cover the workshop. There will be a press briefing (11 a.m. to 12 noon) at the beginning of the workshop on the 5th and the end on the 7th. Don’t miss the opportunity to engage with researchers, policymakers, and community leaders shaping the future of women’s economic empowerment in East Africa and beyond.
The Gates Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) supported the project in five countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. They supported 15 projects focusing on research and policy interventions.
GrOW Phase II – EA constitutes a cohort of 11 research projects that implemented evaluative and action research projects across two interrelated thematic areas:
ii) Reducing and redistributing unpaid care work and
ii) Tackling the continued labour market segregation and employment gender gaps.
Additionally, the initiative supported four care policy projects in Ethiopia, Uganda, and Rwanda, which tested novel approaches and tools for providing rapid and tailored guidance for care policy processes, capacity building of evidence users, and developing WEE communities of practice to drive change. The research took an intersectional approach and considered the needs, priorities, and constraints of different categories of women in different contexts.
GrOW Phase II – EA research and policy projects generated evidence and knowledge on appropriate interventions supporting women’s economic empowerment. The project generated reports and knowledge products. Many lessons were learnt, which have a positive bearing on policy.
The workshop aims to influence policy and practice by showcasing evidence from transformative interventions within the study countries and broader global contexts.
The knowledge products are foundational resources for evidence-based decision-making, fostering inclusive growth and gender equity initiatives worldwide.
Workshop objectives:
▪ Share results and insights from GrOW Phase II – East Africa projects.
▪ Engage policymakers and other stakeholders on research findings and potential policy implications.
▪ Facilitate cross-project learning and synthesis of programme-wide outcomes.
▪ Initiate discussions on scaling successful interventions and applying research findings.
▪ Strengthen the GrOW Phase II – East Africa community and explore future collaboration opportunities.
