REGIONAL CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT FOR GENDER EQUALITY: IFAD/ FAO GRANT PROGRAMME

1. REGIONAL CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT FOR GENDER EQUALITY: IFAD/ FAO GRANT PROGRAMME Gender and rural microfinance: Reaching and empowering women Linda Mayoux and GetanehGobazie

2. What is rural microfinance? • Diversity of institutional forms • Community-based, self managed savings and credit • NGOs • Specialist MFIs • Agricultural and commercial banks • Diversity of financial products • Credit and leasing products • Saving and pensions • Insurance • Remittance transfers • Diversity of non-financial services • Livelihood and business development services • Institution building

3. Aims of this capacity development • Give a clear understanding of gender issues in Rural Finance and possible ways forward • Provide a forum for exchange of experience and ideas between participants on effective strategies and innovation • Introduce additional resources and information available • Expand the network of institutions developing approaches and innovations on gender and microfinance • NO BLUEPRINTS: different types of organisation, products and services • Gender questions and issues to take forward to other ‘mainstream’ training

4. Contents • Why is gender mainstreaming important in rural microfinance? • Institutional dimensions of mainstreaming gender equality and empowerment • Designing financial products: from access to empowerment • Non-financial services, participation and macro-level strategies: increasing empowerment • Promoting an enabling environment: issues for funding agencies

5. Why is gender mainstreaming important? • Women are at least half the rural population • Poverty reduction • Economic growth • Financial sustainability of microfinance providers

6. Gender equality and women’s empowerment marginalised in both financial sustainability and poverty targeting debates. Gender and micro-finance: evolution of debates 2000 onwards split paradigms 1985 Nairobi women’s conference and lobbying by women’s movements for access to poverty-targeted credit programmes and cooperatives . 1990s female targeting for financial sustainability 1980s access topoverty-targeted credit 1970s credit for women’s economic empowerment Increasing targeting of women in rapid expansion of large minimalist poverty-targeted MFIs like Grameen Bank, FINCA and ACCION Self- Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) and setting up of the Women’s World Banking network.

7. Rural Finance and empowerment:Potential virtuous spirals SAVINGS AND CREDIT REPAYMENT WOMEN’S DECISION ABOUT SAVINGS AND CREDIT USE HOUSEHOLD INCOME UNDER WOMEN’S CONTROL WOMEN’S ECONOMIC ACTIVITY IMPROVED STATUS AND CHANGING ROLES CONFIDENCE AND SKILLS (POWER WITHIN, POWER TO) MOBILITY AND NETWORKS (POWER WITH) INCREASED INCOME ACCESS TO MARKETS CHILDREN’S WELL-BEING WOMEN’S WELL-BEING WOMEN’S SOCIAL AND POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT WOMEN’S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT HOUSEHOLD WELL-BEING Nutrition Health Literacy Happiness CONTROL OVER INCOME AND RESOURCES POWER TO CHALLENGE AND CHANGE INEQUALITIES (POWER OVER) ENTERPRISE GROWTH MEN’S WELL-BEING WOMEN’S HUMAN RIGHTS POVERTY REDUCTION ECONOMIC GROWTH

8. Questioning complacency SAVINGS AND CREDIT ??Men may take loan but!!! REPAYMENT ??Women may give the loan to men WOMEN’S DECISION ABOUT SAVINGS AND CREDIT

9. Questioning women’s economic empowerment SAVINGS AND CREDIT REPAYMENT WOMEN’S DECISION ABOUT SAVINGS AND CREDIT USE WOMEN’S ECONOMIC ACTIVITY ?Diversion of loan to other uses ??Women may work from home with marketing by men INCREASED INCOME ACCESS TO MARKETS WOMEN’S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT ??Incomes may be very low ??All women’s income May go for consumption CONTROL OVER INCOME AND RESOURCES ENTERPRISE GROWTH ??Men may control income ECONOMIC GROWTH

10. ??Women’s decisions may replicate gender inequality ??Women may forego own consumption ??Men may withdraw their contribution to the household Questioning women’s well-being SAVINGS AND CREDIT REPAYMENT WOMEN’S DECISION ABOUT SAVINGS AND CREDIT USE HOUSEHOLD INCOME UNDER WOMEN’S CONTROL CHILDREN’S WELL-BEING WOMEN’S WELL-BEING ??Girls may suffer HOUSEHOLD WELL-BEING Nutrition Health Literacy Happiness MEN’S WELL-BEING POVERTY REDUCTION

11. ??May divert attention from wider change Questioning women’s social and political empowerment SAVINGS AND CREDIT REPAYMENT WOMEN’S DECISION ABOUT SAVINGS AND CREDIT USE ??May replicate and reinforce existing roles IMPROVED STATUS AND CHANGING ROLES ??Debt may decrease confidence CONFIDENCE AND SKILLS (POWER WITHIN, POWER TO) MOBILITY AND NETWORKS (POWER WITH) WOMEN’S SOCIAL AND POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT ??Women may work from home POWER TO CHALLENGE AND CHANGE INEQUALITIES (POWER OVER) WOMEN’S HUMAN RIGHTS

12. ALL ASSUMPTIONS MUST BE QUESTIONED Microfinance and disempowerment:potential vicious circles SAVINGS AND CREDIT REPAYMENT ?? ?? WOMEN’S DECISION ABOUT SAVINGS AND CREDIT USE HOUSEHOLD INCOME UNDER WOMEN’S CONTROL WOMEN’S ECONOMIC ACTIVITY IMPROVED STATUS AND CHANGING ROLES CONFIDENCE AND SKILLS (POWER WITHIN, POWER TO) MOBILITY AND NETWORKS (POWER WITH) INCREASED INCOME ACCESS TO MARKETS CHILDREN’S WELL-BEING WOMEN’S WELL-BEING WOMEN’S SOCIAL AND POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT WOMEN’S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT HOUSEHOLD WELL-BEING Nutrition Health Literacy Happiness CONTROL OVER INCOME AND RESOURCES POWER TO CHALLENGE AND CHANGE INEQUALITIES (POWER OVER) ENTERPRISE GROWTH MEN’S WELL-BEING WOMEN’S HUMAN RIGHTS POVERTY REDUCTION ECONOMIC GROWTH

13. QUESTIONS SO FAR?

14. WomenPower within:confidenceaspirations Men Power toPower within WHAT IS WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT? POWER WITH Women:Power toskillsresources GENDER MAINSTREAMING ALLPOWER OVER= BAD STRATEGIES FOR MENto changegender inequality STRATEGIES FOR WOMENto change gender inequality

15. ‘Smart subsidy’ Participatory empowerment process and targeted support for women. Involving men also in this change. Also attention to crosscutting inequalitiesbetween women: poverty, ethnicity, marital status, age, education, health status etc STRATEGIC GENDER FRAMEWORK EMPOWERMENT to make realisable and informed choices Personal difference and choice EQUITY of OUTCOMES ‘rich tapestry of life’ • Enabling environment • to eliminate ‘power over’ requires not only removing discrimination but mainstreaming: • Intra-household- Non-market - Informal processes- Participatory structures EQUALITY of OPPORTUNITYnon-negotiable +

16. Elements of a financially sustainable strategy • Mainstreaming women’s language conceptually and in actuality • ‘Walking the talk’: organizational gender policy • Participatory market research • Gender mainstreaming in non-financial services • Building on group activities for action learning • Macro-level focus and advocacy

17. Organisational Mainstreaming • Vision and institutional culture • Equal opportunity policies for staff • Recruitment, training and promotion policies • Information systems • Using forms of communication accessible to women

18. Possible gender indicators CLIENT LEVEL • (all programmes) percentage of women clients who know and understand the terms of the MFI’s financial services • percentage of women clients with enterprise loans who are themselves working in the economic activity • (mixed-sex programmes) percentage of women accessing larger loans and higher-level services; percentage of women in leadership positions in group-based programmes; STAFF LEVEL • percentage of senior staff who are women, and gender equality of pay; • existence of a written gender policy produced through a participatory process with staff; staff aware of its contents and mechanisms for implementation.

19. QUESTIONS SO FAR?

20. Designing Financial Products • loans • leasing arrangements • savings services • pensions • insurance • remittance transfer services

21. Some types of loan and leasing products • Longer-term credit or leasing arrangements to build assets • Credit for investment in a variety of viable, profitable activities. • Consumption loans to avoid resorting to moneylenders in slack and ‘hungry’ seasons. • Households need loans to pay for children’s education and to meet social obligations

22. Some innovations in loan products • Client-focused loans • Loans for assets registered in women’s names • Loans for adolescent girls and changing the dowry system • Loans for services benefiting women • Loan targeting of vulnerable and very poor women • Consumption loans for men as well as women

23. Designing savings and pension products • Longer term savings for asset purchase • Short-term liquid savings for quick access • Pensions

24. Some innovations in savings products • Personal savings accounts • Pension Savings • Flexible individual savings • Children’s savings card • Graduation from grants to savings linked to training and employment creation

25. Demand driven product development • Participatory market research • Financial literacy • Combining the two linked to application for financial products

26. QUESTIONS SO FAR?

27. Increasing empowerment • Mainstreaming empowerment in core services • ‘Credit-plus’ non-financial services • Participatory approaches • Macro-level strategies

28. Mainstreaming empowerment in core services • Application process for products • Basic savings-and-credit training and group mobilization • Extension services and business advice sections

29. ‘Credit-plus’ non-financial services • Microfinance and literacy • Microfinance and health- and HIV/aids-awareness • Women’s rights training and legal aid

30. Participation for empowerment • Collective action on domestic violence • Internal learning system • Gender action learning system (GALS) • Supporting women’s property rights • Promoting women’s political participation

31. Ways of meeting costs • Mutual learning and information exchange within groups • Implement a cross-subsidy • Encourage loans for service provision by microfinance clients or larger private firms • Inter-organizational collaboration between microfinance programmes and specialist providers • Operational integration of financial and non-financial services

32. Macro-level • Promoting gender mainstreaming and an empowerment focus in all actors in the sector • Consumer protection and regulatory frameworks • Value chain finance and linkages with economic development policies • Gender advocacy eg land and property rights, gender-based violence and women’s political participation.

33. Promoting an enabling environment: some possible roles for funding agencies • Facilitate and support collaboration among the various types of rural finance providers • Promote and support monitoring and research on gender equality and empowerment • Promote learning and capacity-building networks • Ensure that gender experts and women’s organizations are involved in designing financial regulations and consumer protection legislation • Appraise the national training programmes • Mainstream gender in consumer protection • Promote intersectorallinkages among the financial, rural development planning and other agencies working for gender equity

34. OPPORTUNITIES • Micro-finance programmes can make a significant contribution to women’s empowerment and gender equality • Gender equality and women’s empowerment are central to achievement of all other development goals. • Current innovations in SPM, technology, participatory methods and macro-level linkages CONCLUSIONS Questions What are the implications for macro-level policy advocacy? What are the implications for organisations themselves? How can micro-finance support men’s role in change? How can micro-finance groups build on and strengthen women’s own strategies and collective action? What sorts of financial products and and non-financial services are needed for empowerment? RISKS • Microfinance may disempower and benefits cannot be assumed • Continuing marginalisation and resistance to gender mainstreaming within rural microfinance organisations and many funding agencies • Need for sustained capacity-building and innovation

35. QUESTIONS? • Genfinance website: www.genfinance.info • Oxfam Novib’s WEMAN website www.wemanglobal.org • Rural Finance (search on gender) www.ruralfinance.org • Microfinance Gateway www.microfinancegateway.org/ Useful websites