Ethnicity, Gender and Citizenship
Despite social progress and economic advancement in recent years, different forms of social exclusion persist in Peru, which limit the access to development resources for indigenous peoples and Peruvians of African descent. These communities’ ability to fully realize their social, economic, and civil rights is in turn severely diminished. Along with these forms of social exclusion, various mores and institutions of Peruvian society perpetuate other types of social inequalities based on gender and have resulted in unequal opportunities for men and women in our country.
Both forms of inequality have structural roots that not only manifest themselves in civic and economic life, but also find expression in daily acts of discrimination and violence (physical and symbolic).
In this context, GRADE has produced a corpus of studies that explores the multiple dimensions of these forms of social inequality. The studies seek, above all, to bring these problems to the fore by measuring the magnitude of their impact on society, and in turn, we have created a resource for data and analysis that responds to these inequalities.
Building on these studies, we have begun to explore both the causes and consequences of these forms of exclusion, discrimination, and violence. We additionally conduct advocy with the state to incorporate solutions to these issues into its public policy agenda, and we likewise consult on the design of these policy resolutions..
Senior Researchers
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María Balarin Bonazzi
PhD en Educational Policy - University of Bath
María Balarin is a Senior Researcher at the Group for the Analysis of Development (GRADE) in Peru. Her research explores the political economy of education reform and educational justice in the Global South, with a particular focus on gender dynamics and socioeconomic exclusion. She has examined how state weakness shapes education reforms, the processes of […]
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Martín Benavides Abanto (on leave)
PhD en Sociology - Pennsylvania State University
Martín Benavides has a PhD in Sociology from Pennsylvania State University where he also attained a Master’s Degree in Education Policy. He has a degree in Sociology and a BA in Sociology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, and has been a visiting student on issues of social mobility and inequality at Nuffield College […]
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Juan León Jara-Almonte
PhD en - Pennsylvania State University
Juan has a PhD in Educational Theory and Policy and Comparative & International Education from Pennsylvania State University. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences with mention in Economics from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. Currently, he is a Senior Researcher at GRADE. His research interests are inequality in education, intercultural bilingual education, early […]
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Vanessa Rojas Arangoitia
PhD en - Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona
Vanessa holds a PhD in Sociology from Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona. She has a degree in Anthropology and a Master’s degree in Political Science from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. Her work has focused on the anthropology of education and childhood, addressing issues of educational transitions, child welfare, educational quality and power relations. During 2012, she […]
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Martín Valdivia Huaringa
PhD en Applied Economics - University of Minnesota
Martin Valdivia has a PhD in Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota. He has worked as a Senior Researcher at GRADE since 1993. His fields of interest include entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, rural development and more recently democratic governance, with publications in journals such as the Review of Economics and Statistics, the Journal of Development […]
Associated Researchers
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Néstor Valdivia Vargas
PhD candidate en Sociology - El Colegio de México
Néstor Valdivia is studying for a PhD in Sociology at El Colegio de México and holds a degree in Sociology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. He is currently an Associate Researcher at GRADE in the fields of poverty and equality, education, the labor market and human development. He has worked on development and […]
External Consultants
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Paulo César Carrasco Fernández
Degree en - Pedro Ruíz Gallo National University
Paulo holds a Degree in Sociology from the National University Pedro Ruiz Gallo in Lambayeque and is a member of the Professional Board of Sociologists in Peru (Colegio de Sociólogos del Perú). Currently he is a Field Supervisor of the Childhood, Violence and Development Project funded by Bernard van Leer Foundation.
Publications
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¿Qué hemos aprendido del estudio longitudinal Niños del Milenio en el Perú? Nuevos hallazgos y desafíos pendientes (2018-2025)
Antonio Campos, Sofía Madrid, Santiago Cueto, Katherine Curi-Quinto, Javier Escobal, Dianela Espinoza, Monica Lizama, , Vanessa Rojas, Alan Sanchez
Niños del Milenio, conocido internacionalmente como Young Lives, es una investigación de largo plazo que estudia cómo cambian la pobreza y las oportunidades de niñas, niños y jóvenes en países de ingresos bajos y medios. Durante más de dos décadas, el estudio ha seguido de cerca a dos grupos en el Perú: quienes tenían alrededor […]
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Towards Comprehensive Care Systems for Gender Equity in Latin America: Evidence and Lessons from the Collaborative Research-Action Fund
2025 Lorena Alcazar, Carolina Robino, Vanessa Rojas
In 2023, the Collaborative Research-Action Fund was launched to promote care policies and systems in Latin America and the Caribbean. Its purpose is to generate rigorous and applied evidence to build or sustain public care policies. It is based on partnerships among governments, academia, and civil society, with a feminist approach. The Fund is funded […]
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Edutainment, Savings and Empowerment in Rural Areas of Peru
2025 Alberto Chong, Martin Valdivia
This paper presents the results of a randomized five-episode soap opera that promotes prosavings attitudes, trust in financial institutions and female empowerment among women from poor, rural areas of the Peruvian highlands. Using administrative bank data, the results show a significant increase in savings balances 1.5 and 2 years after the intervention concluded, as well […]
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Gender Gaps in the Performance of Small Firms: Evidence from Urban Peru
2025 Bledi Celiku, Diego Ubfal, Martin Valdivia
Este documento estima la brecha de género en el rendimiento de las empresas en Perú utilizando datos representativos tanto de empresas formales como informales. En promedio, las empresas informales dirigidas por mujeres tienen menores ventas, productividad laboral y beneficios en comparación con sus homólogas dirigidas por hombres, con diferencias más pronunciadas cuando se controlan los […]
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Salud mental juvenil en crisis: Cuando la pandemia amplifica desigualdades estructurales
2025 Vanessa Rojas, Elaine C. Flores
The covid-19 pandemic had a severe effect on the mental health of vulnerable young women in Peru, exacerbating symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress. This qualitative study, based on the lived experience approach, analyses the trajectories of two young Peruvian women – one from a rural and one from an urban context – participants in […]
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Social protection systems and domestic violence in poor urban contexts: the case of San Juan de Lurigancho
2017
In Peru approximately four out of ten women has suffered from any kind of violence from their partners. In spite of the development of a social protection system in the country, according to the DHS, only 25% of women sought help. This problem of lack of access to the social protection system might be related […]
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Impacts of the Peruvian conditional cash transfer program on women empowerment: a quantitative and qualitative approach
2016
This study aims to identify the effects of the conditional cash transfer program of Peru, Juntos, on women’s empowerment. Although the program does not envisage women’s welfare as an objective per se, women play a key role as they are the main recipients of the cash transfer and are responsible for compliance with the program’s conditions and thus […]
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International Human Rights Protection: institutions and instruments
2014
The report is aimed at mapping out relevant institutions for the protection of human rights at the national, regional and international levels, including governmental as well as non-governmental organisations. It equally aims to present the instruments used at different levels, especially global and regional treaties as well as political agreements and non-binding instruments. Therefore, the report […]
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Madres e hijas maltratadas: La transmisión intergeneracional de la violencia doméstica en el Perú
2013,
Se revisó empíricamente la persistencia intergeneracional de la violencia doméstica sobre un análisis de regresión de probabilidad controlado por variables asociadas a las características personales, culturales y del entorno de residencia de la encuestada.
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Mujer y movilidad social
2013,
En el documento se presenta un conjunto de recomendaciones de política para generar una efectiva igualdad de oportunidades para hombres y mujeres y, de esta forma, mejorar las dinámicas de movilidad social en Colombia. Para esto, inicialmente se explora la evidencia existente sobre la situación de la mujer en la sociedad colombiana y se hace […]
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JournalJournal of Family Violence
The Co-Occurrence of Domestic and Child Violence in Urban Peru: Evidence from Three Regions
2015Martín Benavides, Juan Leon,
Using a unique dataset collected from three regions in Peru (Huancavelica, Lima and Loreto), this study explores the co-occurrence of domestic and child violence within households; that is, the situation where a victim of domestic violence (mother) becomes a perpetrator towards other family members (children) in the same household. Secondly, the study seeks to analyze […]
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JournalDebates en sociología
“Negra soy, color bonito”: el papel de la “raza” en la identidad de los afrodescendientes en el Perú
2014Nestor Valdivia,
Sorry, this entry is only available in Español.
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Stated social behavior and revealed actions: Evidence from six Latin American countries
2013,
Do attitudinal surveys and incentivized experiments predict actual behavior? The authors answer this question using data on trust and pro-sociality from experiments and surveys conducted on six Latin American cities. Individuals in agreement with a set of pro-social statements who also either are willing to trust others more or are interested in risk-pooling, end up […]
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Gender earning gaps around the world: a study of 64 countries
2012,
The purpose of this paper is to analyze gender disparities in labor earnings for a comprehensive set of 64 countries. Design/methodology/approach – Using the methodological approach proposed by Ñopo, socio-demographic characteristics are used to match males and females such that gender earnings disparities are computed only among individuals with the same observable characteristics. Findings – […]
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JournalWorld Development
Detecting Gender and Racial Discrimination in Hiring Through Monitoring Intermediation Services: The Case of Selected Occupations in Metropolitan Lima, Peru
2012, Maximo Torero,
Inspired by audit studies methodology, the authors monitored a job intermediation service in Peru to detect gender and racial discrimination in hiring. The authors capture individual racial information using the approach of Ñopo, Saavedra, and Torero (2007), enabling a richer exploration of racial differences. Overall, the study finds discriminatory treatment in hiring only when comparing groups […]
No se han encontrado publicaciones de Ethnicity, Gender and Citizenship en la categoría Chapter in Book
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Pantallazo a la violencia de género: Redes sociales y ciberviolencia en relaciones sexo-afectivas entre adolescentes
2024
This document presents the main findings and policy recommendations of the study “Screenshot to gender-based violence: Social networks and cyber-violence in sex-affective relationships among adolescents”. The research was the winner of the Research Contest “Prevention of Gender Violence in Peru”, co-organized by the Consortium for Economic and Social Research (CIES) and the Gender Studies Research Group of […]
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Abordando los estereotipos de género y políticas públicas para facilitar el acceso a un trabajo decente en las mujeres en el Perú
2023
A pesar de años de esfuerzos promoviendo la igualdad de género y cierto progreso, la desigualdad laboral entre mujeres y hombres persiste en el Perú. En 2022, un equipo de investigadores del PEP (Partnership for Economic Policy) analizó los factores detrás de esta persistente brecha y, más específicamente, las barreras que impiden el acceso de […]
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Estrategias de cuidado infantil en familias vulnerables peruanas: Evidencia cualitativa de Niños del Milenio
2021
El análisis de las percepciones de niños y niñas, y de las diversas situaciones que enfrentan familias urbanas y rurales que participan en el estudio cualitativo longitudinal Niños del Milenio (NdM), muestra que el cuidado infantil es una actividad familiar y femenina. Además, la precariedad económica en la que viven estos niños los expone a […]
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Do more school resources increase learning outcomes? Evidence from an extended school-day reform
2021
It remains an open debate whether allocating more resources improves the learning outcomes of students in low-performing public schools. We focus on the effect of increased instructional time, which is theoretically ambiguous due to possible compensatory changes in student, teacher or parent effort. Using a regression discontinuity approach, we find that a reform that extends […]
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La situación educativa de las niñas, niños y adolescentes afroperuanos: una mirada al acceso, resultados y entornos educativos
2021
One of the main barriers in our country (and in others countries) to portraying the socioeconomic situation of the Afro-descendant population is the lack of information disaggregated by ethnic group. This article presents the educational situation of Afro-Peruvian girls, boys, and adolescents and provides recommendations to continue developing studies that allow information to be disaggregated […]
No se han encontrado publicaciones de Ethnicity, Gender and Citizenship en la categoría Book
No se han encontrado publicaciones de Ethnicity, Gender and Citizenship en la categoría Mimeo
Projects
- Estado de Niñez y AdolescenciaJune 2007
- Jóvenes y ExclusiónAugust 2006
- Género y EducaciónAugust 2006
- Nota Técnica sobre Grupos Étnicos y Exclusión Social: Apoyo Preparación Estrategia del Banco en el PerúMay 2006
- Developing and validating a map of asignment of competitions and functions of the Social Development and Women Issues SectorJanuary 2006
News
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Hugo Ñopo’s opinion in The Washington Post on the announcement of compulsory military service for NEETs
August 11, 2021 Ethnicity, gender and citizenship
In regard of President Castillo’s proposal to make military service compulsory for young people who are neither working nor studying, Hugo Ñopo, Senior Researcher at GRADE, warns that two thirds of those likely to be eligible for military service would actually be women, and that a draft could lead to the abuse of indigenous and […]
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Santiago Cueto is a member of the driving group of the National Network for Research on Disability
June 16, 2021 Education and learning, Ethnicity, gender and citizenship
Our Executive Director and Senior Researcher, Santiago Cueto, is part of the driving group of the National Network for Research on Disability (RENID), promoted by the National Council for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities (Conadis) of the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations (MIMP). The aim of RENID is to promote the generation, discussion, dissemination and […]
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GRADE and Southern Voice join the CORE Initiative COVID-19 Responses for Equity
June 10, 2021 Employment, productivity and innovation, Ethnicity, gender and citizenship
GRADE join CORE COVID-19 Responses for Equity, an initiative gathering 21 projects from 42 countries that seeks to understand the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic, improve existing responses, and generate better policy options for recovery. Together with Southern Voice, our centre takes part with a project that focuses on how to achieve sustainable and gender inclusive improvements in food […]
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Ojo Público highlights Hugo Ñopo’s opinion on the disparities of unpaid work
May 9, 2021 Ethnicity, gender and citizenship
“If there is a space that is unequal par excellence, it is home. The National Survey on the Use of Time reveals that 80% of unpaid domestic tasks are done by women. Men and women go out to work and education with an inequality of gigantic opportunities, which for them is equivalent to two days […]
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Lorena Alcázar joined a REDES podcast about the drama of the “ninis” in Peru
December 7, 2020 Education and learning, Employment, productivity and innovation, Ethnicity, gender and citizenship
“The vulnerability of young people in the context of a pandemic is usually associated only with the ‘NEETs’, but in reality the problem is more complex and heterogeneous. There are almost a third of women who, in most cases, are dedicated to maternity or domestic work “. Our senior researcher Lorena Alcazar joined the fifth episode of ‘Hablemos […]
Events
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Lorena Alcázar and Vanessa Rojas presented the UNICEF study, “Social protection measures of the Peruvian government in times of COVID-19”
29/09/2022 Ethnicity, gender and citizenship
UNICEF Perú launched its report “Medidas de protección social del gobierno peruano en época de la COVID-19” (Social protection measures of the Peruvian government in times of COVID-19), carried out by GRADE’s researchers, Lorena Alcázar and Vanessa Rojas. The report, aimed to contribute to the development of a social protection system in Peru, was presented by our researchers and discussed by Pablo Casalí, […]
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Publication Presentation, GRADE on live, Webinar
GRADE 40 years | Book Launch “El Perú pendiente: ensayos para un desarrollo con bienestar”
01/09/2022 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm Zoom de GRADE Urbanization and sustainable cities, Education and learning, Employment, productivity and innovation, Rural development and agriculture, Ethnicity, gender and citizenship, Methodologies for research and evaluation of policy and programmes, Poverty and equality, Natural resources, extractive industries and social conflict, State reform and public institutions, Health and nutrition
El Grupo de Análisis para el Desarrollo (GRADE) organizes the launch of the book “El Perú pendiente: ensayos para un desarrollo con bienestar” (The Pending Peru: essays for a development with well-being), as part of the commemorative celebration for its forty years of institutional life. The book is a collection of essays that, from different conceptual and […]
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Lorena Alcázar will join an IDEHPUCP panel on access to health and education for migrants and refugees
21/06/2022 6:00 pm Zoom y Facebook del IDEHPUCP Ethnicity, gender and citizenship
What are the pending challenges to achieve real access to fundamental rights such as health and education for migrants and refugees in Peru and other Latin American countries? We share the invitation to this upcoming panel as part of the 17th Meeting on Human Rights, held by the Institute of Democracy and Human Rights of the Pontifical Catholic University […]
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GRADE’s researchers will join the 2021 CIES Research Annual Seminar
13/12/2021 → 17/12/2021 10:30 am - 6:15 pm Zoom del CIES Education and learning, Ethnicity, gender and citizenship
From December 13 to 17, several GRADE researchers will be speakers, chairs and discussants at the XXXII CIES 2021 Annual Research Seminar. The event, organized by the Consortium for Economic and Social Research (CIES), will address the question How overcome the challenges of the Bicentennial towards sustainable development? From the three-day program, below are the sessions in […]
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Lorena Alcázar will be a panelist in a Minedu, Senaju and UNFPA virtual forum on youth and adolescents in pandemic
28/10/2021 10:00 am Facebook Senaju y UNFPA Perú Ethnicity, gender and citizenship
In Peru, youth suffer a series of disadvantages and vulnerabilities that have been exacerbated by the pandemic. The situation has been even more critical for those in a situation of special protection (rural, indigenous, Afro-Peruvian, LGBITQ +, with disabilities, among others). The Ministry of Education (Minedu), the National Secretariat for Youth (SENAJU) and the United […]
- Education and Learning
- Employment, Productivity and Innovation
- Rural Development and Agriculture
- Ethnicity, Gender and Citizenship
- Methodologies for Research and Evaluation of Policy and Programmes
- Poverty and Equity
- Natural Resources, Extractive Industries and Social Conflict
- State Reform and Public Institutions
- Health and Nutrition
- Urbanization and Sustainable Cities






