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Pros And Cons Of Progresa

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1.1 Pro: increased self-esteem (through consumption)
According to Suárez and Libardoni (141) , the increased purchasing power of women collecting the Bolsa Família has led to an increased status of these women as consumers, and thus to an increased level of self-esteem.
Hunter and Sugiyama conducted a field research which endorsed this finding; female beneficiaries felt alleviated now that they were no longer in debt with local shop owners. They felt an increased amount of status now that they were able to directly pay for their goods at the counter (835).
A similar outcome of the implementation of Progresa/Oportunidades in Mexico has been noted; women reportedly “felt that they acquired more status in their neighbourhoods, with shopkeepers …show more content…

And even though women could perceive empowerment to some degree due to receiving the grant, this empowerment would still take place within the established gender divide. Progresa, like the Bolsa Família, is based upon female beneficiaries playing their conventional, long-established roles as caretakers. Following this notion, it appears that both programs reinforce these conventional female roles, by only providing grants on the terms of good motherhood (438). Even though making female beneficiaries more central within the home could increase their status within her family, this change would still take place within the long-established labour divide. In line with this argument, Lomelí states that women taking part in CCT programs across Latin America continue acting within the established gender division. To overcome this problem, CCT programs should adopt a gender focus, and get rid of its inherent maternal and familial discourse …show more content…

An important side note is that this effect seems to be lacking in rural households. The literature on increase of female citizenship as a result of the Bolsa also shows a rather clear result, namely that it indeed increased.
Even though most research point to the fact that the Bolsa reinforces the traditional gender roles, some nuances to this conception are being presented within the literature.
And lastly, the reinforcement of the inequality of sexes/overburdening of female beneficiaries as a result of the implementation of the Bolsa has been assessed, with most studies pointing out that it did not in fact overburden women; however, a study on Mexico’s CCT program concluded the contrary.
One issue in the field requiring more extensive (quantitative) research is whether the Bolsa and other CCT programmes create dependency: i.e., does the Bolsa have a positive or negative effect on the labour supply of women? Does the implementation of the Bolsa encourage women to break through the intergenerational poverty cycle, or does it keep them locked within their traditional gender roles (i.e. conducting chores within the

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