In collaboration with IPA and Glasswing International, researchers examined gender beliefs among applicants to an IT career training program in Panama using incentive-based surveys. Participants believed that women had higher general and IT-specific ability than men, but that men showed stronger preferences for IT-related task. Women’s beliefs tended to favor women, while men overestimated the extent of other men’s gender bias—suggesting that perceptions about gendered preferences, rather than ability, may play a greater role in women’s underrepresentation in IT. The study also showed that mobile-phone surveys with incentives can provide a low-cost and reliable way to collect high-quality data in low- and middle-income country contexts.

As part of UNICEF Evaluation Office’s Impact Catalyst Fund (ICF) on child marriage and social norms, IPA Burkina Faso, UNICEF, and UNFPA are collaborating on a randomized evaluation to assess the impact of community engagement and positive masculinities interventions on reducing harmful practices, including child, early, and forced marriages (CEFMU) and female genital mutilation (FGM).

In collaboration with IPA Peru and Kallpa, researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to measure whether sexual education classes and buses providing information and referrals to local health services reduce pregnancy among adolescent girls. Preliminary findings suggested that the mobile bus services helped reduce teenage pregnancy and improve school outcomes in the short term, particularly among older adolescents (18–19 years). In the longer term, the program continued to show positive effects, with reductions in pregnancy among younger girls (16 –17 years) and improvements in school retention and grade progression. Students also demonstrated better knowledge about contraception.. The education component did not show clear additional benefits.