Standardization of CCTs Without Gender Equality

I present the analysis of the second sequence of the CCT trajectory in this chapter, involving the standardization of Bolsa Família and Progresa CCTs mostly by the World Bank as part of a series of anti-poverty actions. After briefly explaining the historical and institutional context of the World Bank in social development and gender, I demonstrate that the World Bank weakened gender equality goals in two significant ways. First, international policy entrepreneurs, with a seemingly unwavering commitment to evidence-based policy choices, omitted gender equality arguments when empirical studies found mixed results concerning the reduction of gender inequalities and the empowerment of women. Second, the chapter argues that, in the framing and decontextualizing processes of CCT standardization, the World Bank privileged quantitative and economic forms of knowledge, while qualitative and contextual knowledge—in this case, in particular, feminist and gender-related research—was marginalized, as were the experts in the institution who carry that knowledge. Therefore, the World Bank’s evidence-based approach led to certifying a thin version of CCTs, minus any goals for altering gender relations or outcomes. The chapter highlights the importance of knowledge mobilized by actors constrained by institutional legacies and venues. Retaining only instrumental understanding of gender relations involves the negation of feminist knowledge and actors. Therefore, the outcome of standardization is the exclusion of gender equality goals from CCT design.