Driving Women's Financial Inclusion at All Levels
Explore the latest global and regional insights from Women’s World Banking’s work in policy, leadership, women’s entrepreneurship, gender lens investing, and more.
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Driving Gender Equality in the Financial System with Women’s World Banking CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian
Mary Ellen begins with the book’s central idea: microfinance is not a solution to women’s financial inclusion. Born in the 1970s, microfinance entailed providing small, unsecured loans to people from low socioeconomic backgrounds so that they could successfully start and grow their own businesses. Microfinance quickly became popular as a
A Q&A with Mary Ellen Iskenderian On “There’s Nothing Micro About a Billion Women”: The Micro and Macro Impact of Empowering Women Through Financial Inclusion
Nearly one billion women remain outside the formal financial system, unable to participate in or benefit from financial growth and prosperity. Despite advances for women in recent decades, the gender gap in financial inclusion stubbornly remains at 9% across the emerging markets, requiring greater efforts from financial service providers and
How to get low-income women to save in bank accounts
By Angela Ang and Elwyn Panggabean, Women’s World Banking Last year, we collaborated with Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), one of Indonesia’s largest state-owned banks involved in distributing benefits of the PKH (Program Keluarga Harapan or Family Hope Program), a conditional cash transfer program for low-income families. Together, we developed an
Women’s World Banking Network Members with Milestone Anniversaries Reflect on Championing Financial Inclusion
Spanning operations in 35 countries and comprised of 62 diverse financial services providers, Women’s World Banking’s Global Network is the only network focused on driving inclusive access to and usage of financial services for low-income women across the globe. In honor of Women’s History Month in March, we are proudly
There’s Nothing Micro about a Billion Women: Making Finance Work for Women by Mary Ellen Iskenderian explores the transformative impact of financial inclusion
Why it takes more than microloans to empower women and promote sustainable, inclusive economic growth. “In her book, Mary Ellen Iskenderian reminds us to ask where our bank finance flows and how much is used for building unequal wealth or destructive institutions that harm humans and the natural environment. How
72 Microfinance Institutions Join Inaugural Financial Inclusion Index
Impact performance measurement of microfinance institutions in 41 countries will launch in Q2 2022 with support from sector leaders. April 13, 2022 – In a global effort to promote standard, comparable impact outcomes data for the microfinance industry, 60 Decibels will release the first microfinance index driven entirely by end
Women’s World Banking Asset Management Closes Second Fund for Financial Inclusion at $103M
New York, NY, March 30, 2022 – Women’s World Banking Asset Management (“WAM”) has announced the final closing of its second fund, WWB Capital Partners II, L.P. (“WWBCP II” or “the Fund”). Following its first closing of $75 million in March 2020, WWBCP II held a final closing in March
Women’s World Banking Celebrates Milestone Anniversaries and Achievements of Network Members
For 43 years, Women’s World Banking’s Global Network has played a vital role in advancing our mission of empowering low-income women through financial inclusion. This Women’s History Month, we are celebrating milestone anniversaries of eight of our Network Members, showcasing their achievements in advancing women’s financial inclusion and gender equality.
In a world of gender bias, Lendingkart’s AI-based credit model stands apart
By Sonja Kelly, Director of Research and Advocacy, Women’s World Banking While undoubted progress has been made in some areas of gender equality, examples of everyday gender bias are still so prevalent that they almost go unnoticed. In the corporate world, unequal pay, boardroom bias, even next technologies like AI
In Conversation with Caroline Abel, Catia Tomasetti, Jorgovanka Tabaković, and Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus: Paving the Way for Female Leadership in Central Banks
In financial institutions around the world, women continue to be underrepresented in senior leadership, with only 14 holding the governorship at a Central Bank. Previously in this series, Women’s World Banking spoke with the Governors of the Central Banks of Malaysia, San Marino, Serbia, and Seychelles about navigating success and
