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| Volume 1, Issue 4: September '03 | ||||
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In This Issue Plenary Session: Empowering Women Through Microfinance/ Innovations from the Field Plenary Session: Presentation of BRAC Institutional Action Plan State of the Microcredit Summit Campaign Report 2003 to be released November 3 in New York USAID and SEEP Network to Facilitate Development of Poverty Assessment Tools Archived Issues
Vol 1 Iss 4 Sept. '03 |
Plenary Session: Empowering Women Through Microfinance/Innovations from the FieldRemarks by Susy Cheston on Empowering Women Through Microfinance
Three decades ago our industry took a great leap forward by taking women into account and developing simple ways to make credit available to poor women. Now, as we all work towards the Millennium Development Goals, we recognize that the way to achieve them is by empowering women and especially mothers to be actors in the development process. Microfinance can play a key role. Thanks to microfinance in part, poor women have better access to financial services than ever before. We heard that 21.2 million very poor women are being served by members of the Microcredit Summit Campaign, making up nearly 79 percent of the 26.8 million poorest clients being served. Microfinance institutions have been very successful in developing group loan products that are accessible to women. The result is that women's businesses are bigger, more stable, less vulnerable to shocks, allowing women to increase their income. …Our research shows that thanks to microfinance, poor women have greater self-confidence and self esteem. Some women value their increase in self-confidence more than any other aspect of their participation in a microfinance program. It is also one of the first impacts we found to occur. For instance, URWEGO in Rwanda, found that 69 percent of their clients reported increased self esteem, even after only 18 months in the program. Our research shows that, thanks in part to microfinance, poor women have improved their status within their families. Women have more control in their lives. For the first time they can make decisions about things such as investing in their own businesses and managing their household funds. Women's Empowerment Program in Nepal mentioned earlier today showed that 68 percent of women experienced an increase in their decision making roles in such areas as family planning, children's marriages, buying and selling property and sending their daughters to school. In part, women's financial contributions to their households have earned them greater respect from their husbands. Some studies have shown that simply bringing financial resources into the household has reduced the level of domestic violence and abuse in the home. In other cases women have been able to stop domestic violence through action by their self-help groups. But we can do better. Some studies show that women in microfinace programs move into new leadership roles within the community, but then they give up these roles when men are around. Others show that women still have limited spheres of influence and in some highly restricted societies women in microfinance programs [are] limited in mobility. How do we respond? Microfinance programs can provide an array of training and support for women to enhance their status in the family and in the community. Our paper suggests some specific, promising practices in empowering women through microfinance, but recognizes that there is much more we can learn about how empowerment occurs. Five critical steps in moving forwards are: Read remarks by Joanne Sandler |