Research Series Issue 44: Gender, rural youth and structural transformation: evidence to inform innovative youth programming

The transition to adulthood is marked by interrelated changes in the areas of education, employment and family formation. Using frameworks on gendered transitions to adulthood and links between assets and livelihoods, the study analyses sex-disaggregated data from various countries to characterize rural youths’ transition to adulthood by gender and according to a four-category typology of low and high levels of structural and rural transformation.

Overall, findings show that young women and men experience the transition to adulthood differently according to the structural and rural transformation classification of the countries where they live.

Addressing gaps in programmes and building an evidence base on the gendered impact of interventions can provide insights into how gender roles can offer opportunities to young rural women and men.