Centring women in crisis: Strengthening communities through cash assistance

Ghida Krisht shares a new perspective from recent research that resilience is as much about the collective as it is about the individual

There is a moment in research when data shifts how we see the world. 

When we began to analyse the data from our recent Cash Waves findings, I experienced one of those moments. The data predictably reinforced an important perspective that resilience is related to income or employment – however, it is equally about networks, redistribution, and collective survival strategies, particularly for women who often bear the brunt of conflict and displacement and find themselves suddenly having to provide for their children and families on their own. 

Women sustain their households and communities through social and financial ecosystems that are less visible in traditional metrics. The findings from this report suggest that if we don’t start recognising and measuring these systems, we may overlook key factors that can contribute to long-term resilience and well-being. 

This matters now more than ever, as displacement, economic shocks, and protracted crises continue to shape the realities of millions. Our Cash Waves study, spanning eight diverse contexts across the Middle East and Eastern Europe, captured the self-reported experiences of people who received cash and voucher assistance in some of the world’s most complex humanitarian settings, including Afghanistan, Georgia, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Romania, the West Bank, and Jordan’s Azraq camp. 

The findings also shed light on the economic and social contributions of women, in particular, in displacement-affected communities – insights that, if integrated, could strengthen cash and voucher programming by ensuring it more effectively supports households and communities’ resilience. 

The Reality of Economic Resilience 

Resilience is shaped not only by economic factors but also by social capital, caregiving responsibilities, and individual perceptions of financial contributions – elements that humanitarian programming often underestimates. 

The perception of how economically resilient a family is, is itself dependent on who is answering the question – a crucial insight for organisations designing and measuring the impact of cash and voucher assistance. Women perceived greater economic improvements than men, with 44% reporting significant improvements in their households’ resilience compared to only 21% of men. Before receiving cash and voucher assistance, only about 1 in 5 women (18%) reported women’s economic participation in their households, compared to just 6% of men who said that women contributed to their household’s incomes. After receiving assistance, the gap persisted. Women were slightly more likely to recognise their participation towards the household’s income (25%), but only 8% of men observed the same. This discrepancy suggests that women are more aware of or recognise their economic contributions more readily than men, highlighting the need for us to reevaluate programming approaches to better understand how resilience is defined, measured, and strengthened.  

If humanitarian programming does not account for women’s perceptions, we risk undervaluing the very social and economic contributions that keep families and communities afloat. 

One of the clearest examples of how resilience extends beyond financial security is “Happy Space”, a community-based social support hub for Ukrainian refugees in Georgia. Designed as an alternative to formal mental health services, “Happy Space” provides psychosocial support, informal education, and community-building opportunities for displaced families. Through activities like art therapy, “emotional intelligence” workshops (activities that help displaced persons to recognise, understand, manage, and use emotions effectively in themselves and their interactions with others), and stress management trainings, “Happy Space” fosters social connectedness and helps participants process trauma. Women who engaged in “Happy Space” reported forming strong networks, reinforcing the idea that resilience is built through relationships as much as through economic resources. 

Similarly, in Syria, cash and voucher assistance enabled women to pursue education and expand their independence, a form of resilience that is often overlooked in traditional economic recovery models. For some, it meant the ability to stay in school rather than drop out due to financial constraints, while others were able to enrol in private courses or vocational training. A few women even reinvested their assistance into community learning spaces, using their newfound financial stability to teach others. These opportunities not only increased their personal resilience but also strengthened the social fabric around them. 

Why These Lessons Matter Now