Why Convergence Fails: Institutional Barriers in Gender-Responsive Social Protection Programs in India

Convergence in social protection policies has become a cornerstone for reducing program fragmentation and improving access to other complementary forms of support. Social protection policy in India has grown, as have commitments to gender responsive design. Despite these commitments however, actual gender responsive provision continues to be developed within the same segmented institutional structures that limit convergence. This research uses an institutional perspective to examine why convergence has not occurred with respect to India's gender-responsive social protection programs. It examines how convergence was conceptualized within policy, how gender-responsive design was integrated into all the major program areas, and what the institutional barriers are that create impediments to coordination in practice. The findings suggest that the failure to achieve convergence results from the structural attributes of social protection governance including sectorally designed programs, organizational silos, fragmented accountability systems and discretionary implementation practices, rather than solely due to the failure to implement the desired programs. By recognizing that achieving convergence is an institutional issue, this research adds to the body of knowledge regarding social protection and provides insight for increasing the coherence of gender responsive systems.