The GEB cohort recently had the opportunity to attend a panel discussion hosted by FINCA Impact Finance in recognition of International Women's Day, titled: "COVID-19 and Women Microentrepreneurs - A Path Forward". The discussion centered on how the microfinance community could best help increase financial inclusion and improve economic outcomes for women internationally, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic which has had a disparate effect on women globally.
See below for some student conversations prompted by the panel discussion:
"The FINCA panel last Thursday shed some amazing real-world insights into some of the topics we have covered in our Economics class so far. Specifically, the event drew attention to the lack of value, or at least formal recognition, of the tasks and responsibilities both in the informal economy and in home production. Tasks such as parenting, especially for mothers, elicit some of the hardest jobs, but do not add a numerical value to measures such as the GDP. Consequently, individuals performing non-market work are generally overlooked and deemed unimportant or ineffectual because they do not officially contribute to the monetary value of goods and services in the economy. Also, with many activities and schools moving to an online format during COVID, many parents--especially women--have been required to spend more time at home to care for their children and support them through online learning. This has not only increased the demand on parents to do more domestic work, but in some cases, it has pulled parents out of their formal occupations as a whole because they cannot afford to work and manage a household with their kids simultaneously. Therefore, the labor force participation rate has decreased in a formal sense as many individuals have retreated to the household through the pandemic, but the value associated with non-market work has no doubt risen as a result.
The panel was also fascinating in that it discussed the importance of microfinancing which has been a topic that has cropped up a lot for me throughout the year. Last semester our cohort had an event centered around microfinancing that first introduced me to the concept. Since then, however, I have encountered that concept in speaking to several interviewees I’ve consulted who work as professionals in non-profit organizations. Further, I am looking into a GW Credit Union that also mentioned microfinancing. On the whole, the concept is increasingly catching my attention and putting it into the context of International Women’s Day really drove home the importance of such financial investments in providing women across the globe with the resources they need to succeed." - Shania Kellison
"I actually found a lot of connections between this event and another event that I attended (hosted by Truist Financial that focused on diversity, equity and inclusion) as well as class concepts and other symposia. I wrote a paper last semester for Professor Donovan’s UW class where I wrote about the female experience in finance and the disparities that women face in the industry. Not even ten minutes into the panel, I recognized the phrase ‘women are more likely to do the lion’s share of unpaid domestic work’ from a reading I had done during my research for the paper. Other facts that were brought up during the intro also seemed to echo the findings of Janet Yellen and others.
Women have historically had less access to credit which amplifies how and why we need to utilize microfinance initiatives to expand access and decrease gender disparities. I appreciated the discussion about microfinance institutions globally and I loved how the panel connected with so many of the ideas that we have been exposed to in other symposia. The “To Catch a Dollar” documentary being a prominent example of this. The facts about women receiving microfinance loans and the positive impact of that was apparent from watching the documentary and through listening to the panel. It was mentioned how the losses in informal labor during COVID disproportionately impacted women. I appreciated this issue being highlighted because I was able to connect it to previous discussions in our economics classes. Specifically, I recollect the readings we did on how women’s work is undervalued because domestic work is not calculated in GDP. I also remember how we learned about minorities and certain segments of the population are more likely to be in informal work and therefore have less access to unemployment benefits and are more likely to lose work if the economy enters a recession. The concept of a “she-cession” also stood out to me because COVID has obviously had an immense impact on so many people’s lives but it’s important to recognize that certain groups have been set back more than others and we must take that into consideration when creating policy goals and initiatives." - Kate Dressel
"The FINCA panel enlightened me to many struggles caused by the pandemic that I otherwise would have never considered. I suppose I’ve heard it said that women have been hit harder as a demographic than men in developing countries, but until this panel I never understood the why. For example, I would never have known why the Uganda travel restrictions impacted women so harshly, but when explained it seems so obvious. The extra exposure associated with having to sleep in the markets leaves them not only susceptible to COVID but other diseases like Malaria as well. Another factor that resonated with me is the effects on the informal industries many of these women work in, and the challenges facing getting women in informal industries actual financial assistance. If a woman’s predominant source of income relates to her work as a maid, for example, her work becomes a task that families will take on themselves rather than risk the exposure. As mentioned before, while these issues seem so glaringly obvious, my privileged perspective here in the U.S. masked the actual causes behind the ongoing challenges facing millions of women.
Another discussion topic that spoke to me was the point about making sure women are supported in financial education. It is unreasonable to expect or accurately provide aid when the demographic needing it is undereducated on how to properly use it to their advantage. This also flows back into supporting women owned businesses. Women’s businesses are at that much more risk when they do not receive the same financial education as men, and therefore are cyclically prevented from advancing their own careers. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to attend this panel, as I gained numerous perspectives on a number of issues that I otherwise wouldn’t have ever acknowledged." - Erin Floyd