Integrating women : an evaluation of the women's socioeconomic participation project

Missions increase economic opportunities for poor women. This impact evaluation reviews the project's background, its management by ICRW and AID/Washington, and its impacts, both in Washington and in developing countries. The evaluation found, in short, that despite the high quality of ICRW's assistance and some significant institutional benefits, field-level impact on Missions and especially on low-income women was disappointing. Reasons include low Mission expectations; lack of follow-up, reflecting the short-term nature of ICRW assistance and the low priority with which most Missions treat Women in Development (WID) issues; and the erroneous assumption that the project would significantly increase opportunities for women. The project nevertheless provided A.I.D. Missions in 17 countries and 5 private and public organizations in host countries with specialized assistance otherwise unavailable; strengthened ICRW capabilities and stability (although ICRW expectations of long-term field relationships and greater involvement in project implementation were not met); and increased the exposure and credibility of WID issues as well as the WID information available to the Washington development community. ICRW management was both efficient and appropriate, but implementation would have been improved had senior staff sought to build collaboration with A.I.D. project management. AID/W's management was somewhat constrained by the degree of Mission control, and promotion within AID/W was inadequate. It is recommended, inter alia, that AID/W and ICRW emphasize coordinated technical assistance, which extends from the project design stage through implementation to follow-up. AID/W should also seek to combine technical assistance with complementary WID-related activities - e.g., information dissemination and training of selected AID/W and Mission personnel. Special efforts should be made to incorporate attention to women into Science and Technology Bureau projects, particularly those with an economic focus.