WOMENS EMPOWERMENT through SUSTAINABLE MICROFINANCE

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WOMENS EMPOWERMENTthroughSUSTAINABLE
MICRO-FINANCE
ORGANISATIONALGENDER TRAINING FOR MICRO-FINANCE
PRACTITIONERS
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WHY GENDER TRAINING?

• Womens empowerment is a key element in poverty
  reduction and financial sustainability.
• Microfinance programmes have significant
  potential for contributing to womens economic,
  social and political empowerment.
• Targeting women in micro-finance has become a
  major focus of gender policy in many donor
  agencies and micro-finance programmes.
• BUT
• There is continuing gender discimination in
  access to many micro-finance services
• Even in financially successful microfinance
  programmes, actual contribution to womens
  empowerment is generally limited.
• This is not just a question of lack of impact,
  but may also be a process of disempowerment.
• SO
• Womens empowerment cannot be assumed but must be
  strategically planned.

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Gender City
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TRAINING OVERVIEW

• Session 1 GOALS, APPROACHES AND ISSUES
• What is gender? Diamond ExerciseWomens
  empowerment and sustainable microfinance
  approaches, evidence and framework
• Views from Kashf Foundation

Session 3 USING PARTICIPATORY TOOLS Definitions
of empowerment and tricky issues Participatory
action learning and key tools Designing an action
learning process Field visit Participatory tools
in practice Women and mens empowerment
indicators Feedback on programme products from an
empowerment perspective Client suggestions for
improvement
Session 4 SUSTAINABILITY VERSUS EMPOWERMENT?
WAYS FORWARD What is sustainability? Review of
strategies for empowerment Innovations in
cost-effective non-financial services Combining
developmental effectiveness with cost-efficiency
Session 5WALKING THE TALK INTERNAL GENDER
MAINSTREAMING Staff gender policy Staff
recruitment Staff training Organizational
learning and decision-making
Session 2GENDER POLICY Programme
Experiences SRSPLSO, HunzaAKRSPANANDI,
IndiaStarting the Road Journey
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OUTPUTS

• Empowerment vision, goals and framework for the
  programme
• Empowerment strategies in relation to products,
  structures and services
• Agreed Action Plan for the programme
• Joining the national and international network

• CHALLENGES
• Gender not easy
• Innovation needed
• Need to decide non-negotiables for local context
• Need to adapt experience and innovation elsewhere
  to the programme capacities and structures
• Facilitators also learners

• Session 6 BRINGING IT TOGETHER
  ORGANISATIONAL ACTION PLAN
• Review of learning
• Finalisation of Road Journey Action Plans
• Presentation of Action Plans
• One Road to Rule Them All Common Elements

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PROCESS
FUN AND COMPETITIONS best logobest local
definition of empowerment best first verse song
RULES No mobiles No smoking No talking during
presentations No talking while someone else is
talking PENALTY Contribution of logo, slogan or
sing a song!

• EVALUATION AS OPPORTUNITY
• Aim
• from measuring success/failure to improving
  future trainings
• Process
• Daily monitoring and post-its
• Final evaluation form

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YOUR QUESTIONS ??
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EMPOWERMENT DIAMONDS
Empowerment diamond Looks at whether most people
consider themselves, or could be considered,
powerful, how many people are very powerful or
very powerless, what criteria are used and why.
Most empowered
Empowered
Household equality diamond Looks at concepts of
household equality, where the most households are
above or below this ideal, the criteria used and
the numbers and characteristics of ideal
households and very bad households.
Less empowered
Disempowered/ powerless
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GENDEREQUITYDIAMOND