Microlending for Improved Gender Equality

by Danielle Susi

The road to gender equality is a bumpy one in many countries.  When we initially think of gender inequality, The Middle East is an area that faces much criticism, but what many people are unaware of is that Central America is often confronted with this major global issue as well.

Microlending or microcredit, is the process of extending very small loans to those in poverty, and is meant to motivate the creation of an individual’s own business.  Self-employment projects funded by these loans are a promising strategy for improving gender equality in Central America because it would advance the status of women by allowing them to act independently and provide additional income for their families.

In a region where machismo—the idea that men are superior to women—runs rampant, microlending would afford women a chance to act as a separate entity from their partners and even give them an opportunity to raise enough funds to provide for themselves and their children if they are forced to leave an abusive household.

Women currently make up ninety-five percent of the Grameen Bank’s microcredit clients, which originated in Bangladesh.  Pro Mujer is “an international women’s development and microfinance organization whose mission is to provide Latin America’s poor women with the means to build livelihoods for themselves and futures for their families through microfinance, business training, and healthcare support.” Pro Mujer helps women escape from poverty and build wealth by creating sustainable microfinance organizations that supply services that women need to build their small businesses.

Microlending is perhaps the most beneficial socioeconomic tool for bettering the lives of women in Central America.  For women lacking social and economic stability, it provides access to financial services that can help families finally exit poverty.  One of the Millennium Development Goals is to “promote gender equality and empower women” and supporting the establishment of more microcredit organizations, like Pro Mujer, in an often-ignored region such as Central America, would behoove the United Nations Development Programme and bring them one step closer to achieving their goals.

Images are the work and property of Danielle Susi