A/HRC/11/9 page 17 64. CTPs should be seen as one policy tool amongst many others that are necessary to tackle the crisis. The 1929 financial crisis caused widespread poverty in developed countries, but it also led to government programmes such as the New Deal, because it generated the political will to expand social security systems for all, social assistance for the poor and employment programmes. The same opportunity exists today in developing countries - with the support of international assistance and cooperation. 65. Any CTPs must be accompanied by long-term social security systems. Unclear economic perspectives across developed and developing countries should not be interpreted as sufficient reason to regress on the realization of the economic and social rights of all, including the rights to social security and to an adequate standard of living. Implementing temporary cash transfer initiatives alone would not amount to sufficient efforts towards the realization of these rights. V. GROUPS IN NEED OF PARTICULAR ATTENTION A. Women and gender equality 66. Human rights law allows, and under certain circumstances requires, States to adopt temporary special measures aimed at accelerating de facto equality between men and women (article 4, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women). In addition, States must take all appropriate measures to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women with the aim of eliminating prejudices, customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women (art. 5 (a)). States must also promote a common responsibility of men and women in the upbringing and development of their children (art. 5 (b)). 67. As noted by many observers and stressed by the independent expert in her 2008 report to the General Assembly (A/63/274), the multifaceted nature of gender discrimination means that women are overrepresented among the extremely poor. Recognizing this, many CTPs include specific provisions to address gender inequality. For example, in some schemes women qualify for a social pension transfer at an earlier age than men (e.g. South Africa). In other countries, transfers target poor widows and destitute women (e.g. Bangladesh) or they are channelled through the female head of the recipient household (e.g. most CCT programmes in Latin America). Sometimes, both conditional and unconditional transfers aim explicitly to bolster the nutrition, health and education of girls and mothers living in extreme poverty. 68. Some of these CTPs have been successful in reducing the country’s gender gap in education and in empowering women. It has been argued that channelling the cash through women reinforces their role and independence, especially as they are entrusted with financial matters within their families. This results in a shift in the balance of power in the household, as women acquire greater control over household expenditure and the increased income is considered as increasing opportunities for women to seek jobs and education.