Men and Microfinance: Why They're Overlooked, and Why We Should Care Camille Ricketts - GOOD.is
go to original June 15, 2013

Happy Father's Day from Kiva! (kiva) http://www.kiva.org/start

Since 1976, when Muhammad Yunus made that first $27 loan to 42 women in Bangladesh, microfinance has been championed as a major tool for tackling poverty. Small loans have a rare ability: they give people the resources they need to lift themselves out of poverty. And what’s more, these people almost always repay, no matter how poor they start out.
 
It’s key that this first group of microfinance borrowers were women. Not much has changed. Today, when people think of microfinance, most think of Kiva - the world’s first website that made it possible for people to make small loans to the poor online. It’s no coincidence that 80 percent of these loans go to women. Microfinance has been thoroughly feminized.
 
On one hand, this is a very good thing. In most countries, women are still marginalized, enjoying much less economic opportunity than their male counterparts. Not to mention, millions face discrimination, violence and cultural restrictions that limit their potential. Microloans help them leap many of these hurdles. But to truly address any of these issues, and the many more that plague the world’s poor, men are a vital part of the equation.
 
Why are men so often overlooked by microfinance?  Well, a lot of it has to do with women being so financially excluded. When people want to make an impact, they’re more likely to help a woman, for all the reasons above.

Read the rest at GOOD.is

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