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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 at the Top: New Program Aims to Provide Better Financing for Women Run Companies
In Spain a meager 8.5% of females occupy senior positions in companies, 0.5% less than in 2010. However, each day we see more businesswomen rising to senior management positions and becoming entrepreneurs.
HELP FOR FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS
BUSINESS ASSISTANCE FOR WOMEN PROGRAM (PAEM)
Its aim is to encourage the creation and consolidation of companies led by women and facilitate access to financing on favorable terms. With the participation of the Higher Chamber of Commerce, Microbank and financial support from the European Social Fund. www.e-empresarias.net
MINILOAN PROGRAM
It aims to promote and strengthen businesses run by women. The Spanish State Secretariat, together with Microbank (La Caixa’s “social bank”) facilitates access to financing through miniloans without the need to put up personal collateral. participating in this project is the Banco Mundial de la Mujer. www.bancomujer.org
WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
According to Elizabeth Lynch, head of the Women’s Leadership Program at the Women’s World Banking (WWB) organization, “businesswomen are powerful role models for other women, including their own clientele, and gender diversity in leadership positions favors common sense in business.” Despite this, men and women still do not have the same opportunities when it comes to developing businesses, as has been recognized by the European Parliament in its Resolution on businesswomen (31 May, 2011) urging Member States to promote the establishment of businesses by women as one of the ways to achieve a more sustainable form of growth.
In Spain there is still much to be done. Thus, in 2010, according to data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor project, only 36.4% of Spanish entrepreneurs were women, representing a drop of almost six percentage points since 2008, attributed to the effects of the economic crisis.
Despite the difficulties, and in line with the Europe 2020 Strategy, we must promote an entrepreneurial culture, foster innovation and ensure that no ideas that can generate growth and employment end up stymied for gender reasons. To overcome the current crisis we need all the talent available, that of both men and women alike. Wasting it would be suicide.
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