Gender-equitable consumer protection

For MFIs with a gender dimension to their mission, gender equitable treatment of clients is a must.

The Genfinance listserv participants have incorporated gender issues into a draft framework on client protection. These principles go beyond other consumer protection frameworks by underscoring women’s rights to apply for and take on loans independent of their husbands, and applying zero tolerance policies for sexual harassment. EDPYME Confianza (Peru) for example, does not require the signature of clients’ husbands to borrow. They also stress that staff training should not just include discussions on ethics, but also on gender sensitivity.

 

Typical barriers faced by women MFI clients

 

Individual 

Household

Wider community/
national context

Financial

Women lack access to financial services in own right

Men's control over cash income
and men's expenditure patterns   

Perception of men as controllers of money

Economic

Women undertake activities which produce low returns
Women have a heavy domestic work load

Gender division of labour
Unequal access and control of land, labour and inputs
Unequal control of joint household produce and income stream from this

Women underpaid for equal work - low paid jobs
Stereotypes of appropriate roles for women

If mobility constrained by social norms – access problems

Social/
cultural

Women not literate or educated

Girls education not prioritised 

Limited role for women in household decision making 
Polygamy results in conflict and discrimination

Women not viewed as a potential market 
Women's mobility constrained 

Political/
Legal

Women lack confidence to claim rights

Women lack legal rights to jointly owned household assets

Lack of legal ownership problem for collateral 

Lack legal rights to land both traditional and formal
 

 

©2012 Imp-Act Consortium