Reaching and Empowering Women: Towards a Gender Justice Protocol for a Diversified, Inclusive, and Sustainable Financial Sector
Gender equality of opportunity and women’s empowerment are integral and essential elements of any serious strategy for economic growth and pro-poor development. Gender issues cannot therefore be seen as a marginal concern for the financial sector. However, until very recently, despite female targeting of small loans and savings and frequent use of the term “empowerment” in promotional material, explicit attention to gender issues within the microfinance movement has been negligible. This paper aims to be a catalyst for serious debate about ways forward, and the starting point for future lobbying to establish an agreed gender justice protocol for the microfinance sector. It argues that there are steps that all financial institutions can take to improve women’s access to finance, ensure financial products are appropriately designed, utilize gender-based indicators for effective monitoring and assessment of impact, enact consumer protection measures, and advocate on behalf of women in the public sphere.