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Why Gender Diversity Matters
Gender diversity matters in microfinance. WWB champions gender diversity because we believe that diverse perspectives lead to stronger decisions and healthier, more vibrant organizations. Incorporating women’s voices when designing and delivering microfinance products is particularly important when a majority of clients are women. Equally as important, microfinance clients often speak of the inspiration they derive from seeing powerful women leaders in the organizations that serve them. How best to achieve diversity? The answer lies in leadership and technical skill development of individual, high-potential leaders as well as in organizational transformations to ensure that all women and men work in environments where they can perform, excel and lead.
Featured Publication
“Transforming the Landscape of Leadership in Microfinance: Maintaining the Focus on Women” introduces WWB’s new methodology for helping MFIs support gender diversity at all levels of their institution. WWB has expanded its Women’s Leadership Development Program, which works with individuals, to include a tool that focuses on the challenges and opportunities microfinance institutions face in the attraction, retention, and promotion of qualified women staff members - the Organizational Gender Assessment. Now available in English and Spanish.
Women’s World Banking Partners with the Research Center for Leadership in Action
In June, Women’s World Banking began its collaboration with the Research Center for Leadership in Action (RCLA) at NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. RCLA will conduct a participatory evaluation of the Center for Microfinance Leadership. Over the course of the next 30 months, RCLA will work with the Center in collecting data to evaluate outcomes of Center programming and will conduct an industry-level exploration around what works in leadership development and where future investments are most likely to have the biggest impact for the microfinance sector as a whole.
The goal of the Center is to make a significant contribution to the development of high quality, diverse management and leadership in the microfinance industry. RCLA's research will enable WWB to understand which programs and interventions best support leadership development and where the Center can further expand its offerings to deliver on its mission.
RCLA supports leadership that listens to many voices and serves as a resource for making systems and organizations effective, transparent, inclusive and fair. Their approach to increasing leadership for the public good includes breakthrough scholarship, customized research and programs, and partnerships that translate scholarship into action. Exemplifying RCLA’s commitment to conducting research with leaders rather than on leaders, the Center evaluation will be highly participatory and largely qualitative in nature. Data will be gathered primarily through in-depth interviews with microfinance experts and practitioner-leaders whose institutions have participated in Center programs.
NYU Wagner faculty members Erica Foldy and Jonathan Morduch will serve as advisors for the evaluation. Learn more about RCLA