For those documents that are not available for download in PDF, please contact the Social Finance Programme secretariat for a copy: SFP@ilo.org

WP 69: Micro-finance and microenterprise development: Their contribution to the economic empowerment of women. - (pdf 541 Kb)
M.S De Gobbi with contributions from N.H Dhakal and S.T Hijazi. 2004, A joint SEED - SFP publication.

WP 35: Property Rights and Collateral- How Gender makes a difference
Bankers Institute of Rural Development, India, 2003.

This study examines gender-based constraints in the access to property rights and collateral in India. It builds on work carried out since 1994 by the Social Finance Programme on the role of collateral in small-scale financial transactions. The study looks in particular at gender-related inequality in property rights resulting in additional constraints for women to access collateral and thus credit.

WP 32: Microfinance et autonomie féminine - (pdf 204 Kb)
I. Guérin, 2002, BIT.

This paper examines the impact of microfinance on women entrepreneurs in Senegal. Based on a clients survey it looks of household-integral changes induced by debt as well as the organizational capacities of women on the informal sector. The paper recommends to pay more attention to the effective debt absorption capacity of women headed households and to explore more rigorously the demand for alternative financial services .

WP 23: Microfinance and the empowerment of women - A review of the key issues - (pdf 144 Kb)
L. Mayoux, 2000, ILO.

One of the strategies that is systematically mentioned in the context of women’s empowerment is micro-finance. Beyond mere financial intermediation, micro-finance institutions can bring about social change. This is due to three factors: micro-finance institutions reduce risk and transaction costs; they target clients; and they often design their product in a gender-sensitize manner. The author reviews the evidence about the link between access to micro-finance and empowerment. Her paper shows that this is not a simple link. Her paper calls for a rigorous self-assessment in the micro-finance industry and further research. The paper concludes that women’s empowerment needs to be an integral part of policies. Empowerment cannot be assumed to be an automatic outcome of micro-finance programmes, whether designed for financial sustainability or poverty targeting. More research and innovation on conditions of micro-finance delivery is needed. The paper finds that cost-effective ways of integrating micro-finance with other empowerment interventions, including group development and complementary services are still lacking.

IFLIP WP01-4:: Gender Access to Credit under Ghana's Financial Sector Reform: A case Study of two Rural Banks in the Central Region of Ghana - (pdf 124 Kb)
E.K. Ekumah, T.T. Essel, 2001, ILO.

The study discusses gender access to credit under Ghana's financial sector liberalization. The results show that even though the reform did not specifically address gender accessibility to credit, it has facilitated the process to strengthen poor women’s access to credit via the introduction of new banking products. There is evidence that gender access to credit has improved with financial sector reforms, yet some of the constraints accessing credit still remain.