Evaluating gendered fault lines: Nigeria’s COVID-19 stimulus through a feminist political economy and OECD-DAC lens

Abstract

This paper examines the gender responsiveness of Nigeria’s COVID-19 fiscal stimulus, the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP), through a feminist political economy lens, using the UN Women–ILO gender assessment toolkit. By analyzing macroeconomic data, sector trends, and policies, it assesses whether the ESP effectively addressed the pandemic's uneven socio-economic impacts on women, particularly in the informal sector. The results show that although the ESP included interventions for vulnerable groups and women-led businesses, it lacked a comprehensive strategy for gender mainstreaming and failed to address underlying inequalities in care work, labour participation, and access to health and social services. The paper calls for policy reforms that prioritize women’s economic independence and social protection systems. Beyond its policy relevance, this study contributes to evaluation research by demonstrating how macroeconomic stimulus programs can be assessed using OECD-DAC evaluation criteria and a feminist political economy perspective. This demonstrates how gender-sensitive evaluation frameworks can yield valuable insights for national policy design and inform approach shows how gender-sensitive evaluation frameworks can produce insights for national policy design and the international evaluation community. The study adds to the discussion on gender-responsive recovery in Africa by providing evidence-based recommendations for future fiscal policy responses.