Résumé en anglais

This policy brief provides an assessment of conditional cash transfer programs aimed at reducing extreme poverty and improving the social and economic conditions of impoverished women, implemented in Mexico from the 90s onward. Because of the design weaknesses, these programs have not only been unsuccessful in reducing extreme poverty but also have fallen short in empowering women in Mexico. Gender-inclusive social programs, particularly Oportunidades and more recently Prospera, have had negative impact on poor women’s well-being despite the attempts to enhance their economic autonomy. This can be attributed to its maternalistic design, which enforce traditional gender roles, and put additional workload on women. This Policy Brief emphasizes the importance of considering women as citizens with rights, and persons with independent aspirations, instead of viewing them as development bearers and means to the efficient implementation of governmental programs. To this end, the Policy Brief offers recommendations to ensure an effective way of enhancing the material conditions of the family by modifying the dimension of power from within (Meza et al., 2002), and offering women a greater control over the resources provided to them.