The persisting inequalities women face while entering the labor market, make female economic empowerment a major policy objective for international organisations, local governments, non-profit organisations, researchers, and private companies. However, female economic empowerment should not only tackle those inequalities itself but it is also considered a key element to end poverty and boost economic prosperity. The 17th PEGNet Policy Brief  examines this connection between female economic empowerment and development.

Rural poverty, a widespread problem for the Paraguayan government over the last decade – as well as for other economies in the region – , led to the implementation, in 2016 and 2017, of the “Sembrando Oportunidades Familia por Familia” pilot program, an initiative based on the graduation approach to reduce the incidence of extreme poverty in rural areas. Evaluating the intervention results is essential to understand the effectiveness of this approach in reducing poverty in the Paraguayan context, where the government is in charge of its implementation.