Gender analysis of the effectiveness of a social policy: PAREM in Senegal

Expanding social coverage has been one of the key elements of COVID-19 response policies in Senegal. But the initial measures excluded women, as informal entrepreneurs and pillars of survival in vulnerable households. The Program to Strengthen the Resilience of Vulnerable Households and Groups (PAREM in French) has remedied this situation. Based on surveys carried out in 2023 and 2024 in the commune of Popenguine-Ndayane, this article analyzes the extent to which gender has been taken into account in its design and implementation. It then assesses the PAREM’s impact on women’s economic empowerment and capacity to act, the sustainability of its intervention model, and its potential for gender-related transformation.