Updating Fair Finance International’s Methodology
Althaë has forged a dynamic partnership with Fair Finance International, Promundo, and Oxfam Novib to revitalize their renowned methodology. Our collaborative efforts have focused on training FFI's global teams in critical areas including impact investing, gender lens investing, and the nuances of effective policy design and assessment. These cross-organizational sessions have sparked invaluable exchanges of diverse perspectives and experiences, enriching all participants with global insights and innovative approaches. The collaborative energy and knowledge sharing between these international teams has created a powerful foundation for advancing more inclusive and effective financial frameworks worldwide.
FFI celebrated International Women’s Day with this piece published on March 8 — that we are proud to re-post.
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There is a particular resonance to IWD 2025 marking as it does, the 30-year anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action which remains the most progressive and widely endorsed blueprint for women’s and girls’ rights worldwide. In many ways the theme for this year pays tribute to the Conference and the Declaration where the interdependence of rights was clearly emphasized as Rights, Equality and Empowerment clearly go hand-in-hand; without basic rights and equal access to tools that allow for political, social and economic participation there can be no empowerment. This interconnection and what it can mean for women rights, for a responsible financial sector and for sustainable economic growth is, moreover at the heart of a series of gender trainings FFI has been running for its network and partners since November 2024, in collaboration with Althaë Strategy.
Legal Barriers to Women’s Empowerment
The trainings bring together participants from around the globe, representing the 22 Fair Finance coalitions, all with their own knowledge, experiences and perspectives from diverse geographical regions and political landscapes.
Underpinning all the sessions are some basic hard facts around legal and regulatory hurdles which specifically impede and sometimes actively prevent women’s ability to access finance and/or engage in the world of finance, be it as clients or employees. These barriers reveal the tangible truth of this year’s IWD theme as without rights, there cannot be equality and without equality there cannot be empowerment.
Looking at freedom of movement for example, out of 190 countries 15 countries restrict a woman’s ability to travel outside the home to look for a job and run errands, while 33 countries don’t allow for women to apply for a passport in the same way as a man. This inability to access official identification can also have a negative impact on applying for work or opening a bank account. Looking at employment, 19 countries restrict a woman's ability to get a job in the same way as a man, while 72 countries still curb women from working in the same industries as men. Regarding discrimination on the basis of gender, in 31 countries it is still legally permitted to discriminate against women in the workplace while 49 countries don’t protect employees from sexual harassment in employment. What of equal pay for equal work? 100 countries currently allow men to be compensated more than women for doing work of equal value. In terms of borrowing, in 108 countries a woman can be refused a loan simply because she is a woman.[1]
The "Business Case" for more Empowered Women and a More Inclusive Finance Sector
Although great strides have been made for women since the Beijing Declaration, if the host of remaining legal barriers were removed, World Bank studieshave shown that empowered women can become powerful drivers for lifting countries out of poverty.
Creating a level playing field for women and men also has significant positive impacts for the financial sector, for example studies show that while women entrepreneurs currently receive less capital than their male peers, they generate more revenue[2] and are notably less of a credit risk than men[3].
For the financial sector, investing in companies with good representation of women, particularly at the leadership level, is moreover a sound investment. A higher proportion of women in decision-making positions has been shown to yield positive results across multiple metrics, from increased profitability to improved risk management and corporate governance.[4] In fact, companies with 30% women executives outperform those where women constitute between 10% and 30% of executives. Furthermore, the most diverse companies outperform the least diverse ones by 36%.[5]
Conclusion
Despite significant progress in women’s rights since the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action in 1995, and notwithstanding the clear “business case” for advancing Rights, Equality, and Empowerment for Women and Girls, the world is experiencing new and overlapping crises, as well as the erosion of rights. This International Women’s Day, and every day, the Fair Finance network will, however, keep working towards more inclusive, responsible, and sustainable financial systems that help bridge the gap between access to rights and the tools that provide equality and empowerment for women and girls.
This article is by Pauleen Genova, Communications Lead with Fair Finance International
ENDS
[1] https://thepathtoequality.org/ Developed with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in partnership with the World Bank.
[2] Mass Challenge: BCG Analysis
[3] FC – Banking on Women: “Business Case Update #6 – Lower Nonperforming Loans for Women – November
2023
[4] McKinsey “Diversity Wins: Why Inclusion Matters”, 2020
[5] McKinsey “Diversity Wins: Why Inclusion Matters”, 2020
https://www.fairfinanceinternational.org/ff-international/news-overview/2025/bridging-the-gap-women-and-the-financial-sector/
[1] “SHGs as Agents of Change”, Institute for Financial Management and Research, 2009 and “GEWEP II: Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Programme II - Final Report”, CARE, 2020
[2] “Meta-Evaluation report on Social Norms, Performance and Prediction of MMD/VSLA Achievements in Niger”, CARE, 2022