SIDBI PSIG Study on Gender Integration in Microfinance

Speakers: Sonal Jaitly, Theme Leader – Gender & FL, PSIG, SIDBI and

Seemantinee Khot, Lead Researcher on the Study, BASIX ConsultingFacilitator: Amelia Greenberg, SPTF

29 May 2018

Agenda

• Introduction (5 min)

• Overview of the research study design (5 min)• Overview of the research study design (5 min)

• Findings from the research (35 min)

• Questions and discussion (15 min)

Introduction to OWG

• Reminder of OWG mandate and work to date

• Summary of planned OWG in the coming year

• Presentation of today’s webinar topic

Introduction of speakers:Sonal Jaitly

• Theme Leader for Gender and Financial Literacy at SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India)• Focus is on integrating a gender perspective into policies and programs, with a goal of gender equality and economic empowerment programs, with a goal of gender equality and economic empowerment of women in the financial system• Previous work experience:

­ United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Women Empowerment (UN Women).

­ Leader of various programs for ending violence against women in public spaces and use of technology to bring about change

­ Author of several articles for “The Washington Times – Communities” for her column “An Indian Journal”

­ Author of UN Women’s report on “Mapping Access to and Use of Mobile Phones to Document, Prevent and Respond to Violence against Women and Girls in Urban Public Spaces”

Sustainable Development Professional: Gender Equity, livelihoods and CSR

• > 30 years in the development sector, 20 years with NGOs, 10 years of UN assignments,

• 7 years in consulting; completed several assignments across all the

Introduction of speakers:Seema Khot

• 7 years in consulting; completed several assignments across all the continents.

Team Leader, Gender Mainstreaming in Microfinance, for Basix, on the SIDBI supported study

Many other current engagements, including serving on boards, senior evaluation specialist on sustainability, for FAO/UN, and partner in a niche consulting firm focused on sustainability

• Microfinance is a social enterprise, financial transactions with social purpose

• MFIs receive special attention because they work with

Assumptions

• MFIs receive special attention because they work with unreached / particularly women

• Working with women is not equal to Gender

• Microfinance has power to accelerate achievements of SDGs

Expanding outreach

Retaining clientele

Increasing outstanding Securing portfolios

Risk proofing

Increasing efficiency of operations

Growth needs of MF Sector

Retaining clienteleof operations

Maximising returns/ Optimizing Impacts

micro finance for women’s empowerment ?

or

The Big ? are

or

women for Micro finance empowerment

? women are means or ends ???

The Big ? are

Is access to credit = economic empowerment

?will economic Empowerment automatically will economic Empowerment automatically

translate into social change?

will economic empowerment sustain without social change?

To study the extent which the PSIG Partner Institutions (most are from micro finance sector) have integrated gender mainstreaming in

1. policies and organisational documents position vis-a-viswomen and their empowerment

Study Objectives

2. key people internalise a gender perspective in implementing microfinance services.

3. products and practices reflect gender perspective

Study extent of gender integration Institutional spaces for diversity and inclusion

Reviewed Document in public domain / website / reports

Structured interactions with teams

Interviewing the senior most management

Gender Assessment Methodology

Designed and applied a Gender Integration Index

• General Indicators: info related to legal registration, location size, spread, model of disbursement etc.

• Gender Indicators: Policy, People and Products & Services

26 PSIG partner institutions and 1 network covered

Dimension No Parameters Gender Integrated

Gender Sensitive

Gender Neutral

I Policy

1.1 Vision / mission 3 2 11.2 Organization Structure 3 2 11.3 Priority /Focused target group 3 2 11.4 Policies and operational guidelines 3 2 11.5 Monitoring and Evaluation/ Reporting 3 2 1

Policy Score 15 10 5

2.1 Leadership 4 3 1

Gender Integration Index

II People

Leadership2.2 Staff / Senior management 4 3 12.3 Women Representation in Governance 4 3 12.4 Member participation 4 3 12.5 Networking/Collective action for change 4 3 1

People Score 20 15 5

IIIProducts

& Services

3.1 Product Design 5 4 13.2 Accessibility 5 4 13.3 Repayment of loan/ collection practices 5 4 13.4 Non Financial Services/ capacity building 5 4 1

Product Score 20 16 4

Overall Gender Integration Score 55 41 14

Range of Scores for Classification 42-55 31-41 14-30

Study findings

5352514744434242414040403737363635343433313131292625

2 3 48 11 12 13 13 14 15 15 15 18 18 19 19 20 21 21 22 24 24 24 26 29 30

0

15

30

45

60 Overall Gender Integration Scores

Gender Integration Scores:

• Only 11% fully gender integrated,

• 54% 'Gender Sensitive’, and 35% 'Gender Neutral’

• Significant intersection of MFI policies, people and products and their interplay in delivering microfinance to clients;

• Lack of gender mainstreaming affect

Gender Integrate

d 3

Gender Sensitive

14

Gender Neutral

9

• Lack of gender mainstreaming affect outreach, access and repayments by clients, and demand greater inclusion, enhanced diversity of products as well as financial and social empowerment of clients.

• Lowest scoring parameters

• Policy: Collecting and Monitoring gender disaggregated data

• People: Leadership profile and gender parity in staff

• Product: Loan servicing

As the Size and Spread increases Scores decline

Coop and NGOs backgrounds – score better

Gender Integration Scores:

20

30

40

50

Average Gender Integration Scores by Spread of PIs

21

31.5

42

52.5

Average Gender Integration Score by Client Size (Tiers)

0

10

Single Multiple0

10.5

III II I

• Vision/Mission: lack clarity and re often contradictory; no reference to diversity among women nor working with men or transforming gender relations.

• Structure: mostly centralized and suited for controlled business

• Priority Group: lack of inclusion of single women and such social categories of women (with some exceptions) and transgenders, exclusion of women whose husbands or families reflect addictions/ alcoholism, chronic illnesses

Policy Level Findings

whose husbands or families reflect addictions/ alcoholism, chronic illnesses and difficult personal circumstances.

• Human Resource Policies: lack of gender equitous policies on paper and/ or in practice.

• Monitoring and Evaluation: limited to financial figures and MIS does not reflect a gender perspective.

No overarching Gender Policy

• Gender ratio declines at the top and bottom, more in the office/ middle mgmt

• Genuinely believe that it is difficult to hire women for microfinance work due to mobility and safety issues

• Keen on improving gender balance in staff, but still limited to 20%

• Most organizations have some concessions/ facilities for women staff

• Incongruence between personal gender biases and organisational agendas.

People Level Findings

• No gender orientation trainings to staff.

• Project women as beneficiaries, not decision makers

• Number of Partner Institutions by Level of Gender Mainstreaming

• Accountability to organization, not towards women clients.

• Efforts at gender sensitivity are made, if mandated by donors.

Women treated as beneficiaries, not as decision makers

• Loan products do not consider women's rights over family assets as legitimate

• In fact some practices strengthen patriarchal controls, for example, NOC from the family for taking a loan;

• Few products customized to individual paying capacity and risk bearing

• Product Accessibility is good; conditional graduation from small loan to large loans, and transition between products for different categories

Product Level Findings

• SIDBI’s thrust on Financial Literacy & Women Empowerment is making a difference, many PIs reaching out to both men and women – these PIs score better on GI Index

• Social risks related to gender norms (patriarchal values and positions of women and men in families and society) are real to microfinance

• For risk proofing need to work from gender equity lens, to improve women's position, thus enabling them to realise their full potential.The loaning conditions neither bind the families

for repayment nor strengthen women by providing cover for losses.

• Prepare Gender Action Plans

• Revisit / rearticulate Vision­Mission

• Collate and report Gender Disaggregated data

• Track performance on diversity and inclusion

Recommendations given to MFIs:

• Enhance HR Policy from gender perspective

• Risk proofing of portfolios from a gender equity lens

• Increase gender balance across the levels

• Gender Sensitization across all levels

Develop better understanding of Gender and MFI connect

Recommendation: Policy

• HR Policy: Recruitment, affirmative action, remuneration, travel, leaves and compensation etc. Complaints Redressal Policy/ whistle blower/ POSH

• Product development policy

• Loan Servicing Policy

• M & E Policy

• Financial literacy

Recommendation: Products

• Review all products from Gender Diversity and Inclusion lens

• Design client centric products, to address women’s strategic gender needs

• give women secured access / men to shared responsibility

• Keep in mind gender relations: examples• Keep in mind gender relations: examples

• If a client’s husband is struggling with addiction, offer loan option to run a business in a group

• housing or property loan option with the woman's name in title of ownership

• Include unmarried girls on priority

• Ensure retention of women

• Conduct gender test for recruitment

• Equal pay for equal work

• Create support systems for women to function effectively;

• Secure Travel at night

Recommendation: People

• Secure Travel at night

• Accommodations on tour (safe and separate for women)

• Frequency of travel

• Consider distance from home for office location and timing

• Allow home area postings

• Minimize cash transactions, to safeguard women

• Policies for women with small children and elders in family

• Address typical objections to accommodating women (e.g., costs, much, takes too much effort when hiring men is just as good)

• 17 out of 26 PIs have made Gender Action plans

• There is more reflection and acceptance of messages emerging from study

• Gender is not equal to women!

• Men, social institutions, social norms and values need to change!!

Outcomes of the Study

• There is diversity among women, inclusiveness will give competitive business edge

• Employing women makes business sense!! It will help reaching more women clients,

• Economic empowerment is not sufficient to empower women, it needs to go hand in hand with social empowerment.

• Demand for gender sensitization training

Empowering women can strengthen micro finance

For empowering women not only women need to change

but

Openness to questions

but

men, family as an institution, social norms, values, division of work, skills all need to chage

Equity is “end” and MF “means”

Widening the debate

access to credit is beginningProduction systems, Markets, financial institutions need to

change for economic empowerment

??Economic Empowerment is not automatically translating

into social changeBut social change can create better conditions for

economic empowerment For economic empowerment to sustain social change is

must

• Gender makes business sense!• Gender makes business sense!

Discussion

• Comments?

• Questions?

Thank you!

You may contact both speakers and the host:

• Sonal (sonalj@sidbi.in)

• Seema (seema.khot@gmail.com

• Amelia (ameliagreenbergsptf@gmail.com)

• OWG resources are posted here : https://sptf.info/working­groups/outcomes