Social Policy Assessment of the Gendered Effects of Conditional Cash Transfers in Argentina on Female Beneficiaries: A critical analysis of empowerment and emancipation.

Abstract: Conditional cash transfers are a popular social policy across Latin America. Often focused on investments in early childhood education and care, the social policy requires conditionalities such as educational attainment and healthcare to achieve human capital development. In the short-run the severity of poverty will be reduced by the immediate relief provided by transfers, whereas the conditionalities will serve the long-term effect of poverty eradication and economic development. Argentina is one such country to adopt the market neoliberal social policy in an attempt to boost economic growth and reduce poverty. While ample evidence has shown improvements related to education and health of young children, one concern of the transfers is the effects they have on mothers. In a few Latin American countries, the transfers are received by mothers under the expectations they aid in the facilitation of human capital development for their children. Critics of Argentinian cash transfers claim that while the transfers provide women the economic means to afford basic necessities for the children and the household, they are actually detrimental to their social standing and health. This thesis aims to analyse these claims, and take on a new perspective of the issue in a way that problematises the ethnocentric view of feminism. Using theories such as Bourdieu’s theories of human capital, Amartya Sen’s exclusion and unfavourable inclusion, Kabeer’s victimisation of Global Southern women among others, this writing will discuss the ways in which women become empowered by the transfers, but not emancipated. It ends with a discussion on the ways in which conditional cash transfers can be reformed to adopt a gendered approach.