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WWB Commemorates International Women's Day 2008 at the United Nations

March 6, 2008—WWB was honored to present at the United Nations as part of a high level panel commemorating the observance of International Women's Day 2008. This year's theme was "Investing in Women and Girls," and the discussion among experts from academia, non-profits, governments and business was on scaling up investments in women and girls and progress toward gender equity. Inez Murray, WWB's Vice President for Technical Assistance and Programs, spoke about why the microfinance sector has historically targeted women as clients, and the barriers that still exist to women's full participation in the economic growth of their communities. She cited WWB's own research that shows how women make financial decisions differently from men at the household level, and how women's differing needs, motivations and behaviors impact the products and services offered to them by microfinance providers. WWB has been a voice and change agent for poor women entrepreneurs for more than 30 years and continues to build a network of strong financial institutions around the world to ensure that the rapidly changing field of microfinance remains focused on women as clients, innovators and leaders.

Read more information about the session, including presentation slides.

Watch the webcast of the discussion.

For more information contact wwb@swwb.org.