Introduction
On July 20, 2001, the International Coalition on Women and Credit of Women’s World Banking (WWB) and the United Nations Capital Development Fund’s Special Unit for Microfinance (SUM) hosted a roundtable at the Ford Foundation in New York titled Innovating from Experience: Gender Initiatives in Microfinance. This gathering was part of respective efforts to promote gender initiatives in microfinance and brought together 33 participants, including supporters of microfinance institutions, academics, and representatives of multilateral organizations and global networks to discuss innovations in this field.
Background
The roundtable
marked the second collaboration among the Coalition, SUM and the
Ford Foundation, bringing together mutual work in the field to
promote greater exchange and learning around topics of import.
In July 2000, the Coalition and SUM hosted a roundtable discussion
on microinsurance, which was also widely attended. For both events,
it was evident that a high demand for promoting exchange exists
among members of the microfinance sector.
The Roundtable on Gender Initiatives in Microfinance originated with the common understanding and experience of SUM and the Coalition that microfinance has a positive impact on improving the economic and social conditions of poor women. Advances in microfinance indicate that members of the practitioner, academic and donor communities have been indirectly addressing the link between gender and microfinance through the development of responsive products such as savings, insurance and housing; designing credit delivery mechanisms that meet women’s specific needs and barriers; and, studying the impact of microfinance services on the economic and social conditions of poor women. The roundtable provided an opportunity for participants to exchange experiences in current initiatives that bridge the gap between gender and microfinance, discuss strategies and challenges and learn of advances in the field.
Objectives
The overall
objective of the roundtable was to provide a discussion channel
for microfinance supporters to share and learn about strategies,
experiences, challenges and innovations in microfinance and gender.
The roundtable provided the opportunity to identify those working
on the subject and to open a dialogue that might serve as a basis
for more sustained discussions on priority issues, and for finding
new ways to push the ever-developing frontiers of the microfinance
industry.
The purpose
of this report is to capture experiences shared in the presentations
and to identify some of the main comments made during the plenary
discussion. The report highlights examples of advances in addressing
gender in microfinance, including innovative financial products
and non-financial services, impact assessment techniques, and
advances in the state of industry knowledge through research and
information dissemination. The report also documents priority
issues and comments that were raised during the plenary discussion,
which require further attention and investigation.
Accordingly, this report contains statements and opinions expressed during the roundtable, which do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Coalition on Women and Credit, or of the Special Unit for Microfinance.
