Participation of women in the South Asian microfinance industry: An observation

Abstract

Considering the definitive role of women in microfinance industries, the study has examined the participation of women in various management roles and clients base of the South Asian microfinance market. By so doing, secondary data were obtained from the World Bank database, which incorporated the microfinance information exchange (MIX) dataset for free and easy access to global data on microfinance institutions (MFIs). The data used in this study span the period 2011–2018 (excluding female borrowers), and include six South Asian countries –Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Methodologically, the study relied on descriptive types of analysis in line with the context of the research. The findings revealed a disadvantageous and disproportionate representation of women in various management roles relative to the client base of MFIs. Moreover, average female participation rates (excluding female borrowers) in the South Asian microfinance market in tandem with the female labor force participation rate were observed to be lower than the global average; thereby, raising concerns about the poor gender diversity in this part of the world.

Fintech-based Financial Inclusion and Risk-taking of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs): Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

“…For example, MFI-related variables were extracted from the MIX Market database, which is now incorporated into the World Bank Open Data Catalog for a more extensive and freely accessible data. 3 This is one of the reliable sources of MFIs' data used extensively by researchers (Mia, 2021). For the list of countries and sample used in the study, refer to 'Appendix A.'…”

Impact of Intellectual Capital on Microfinance Institutions’ Efficiency: the Moderating Role of External Governance

“…Thus, an unbalanced data of 661 MFIs from 86 countries for the period of 2010–2018 were obtained from that database. To reach this sample and the period, some conventional criteria were executed such as removal of the missing value in line with Mia ( 2020 ) and Nourani et al ( 2020 ). It was necessary as the efficiency estimate technique does not accept missing values throughout the sample period.…”

Factors affecting borrowers’ turnover in microfinance institutions: A panel evidence

“…Compared to their male counterparts, female officers are considered to be better in handling and monitoring female customers and are closer to them, preventing their dropout (Ghosh & Guha, 2019). This phenomenon is better explained by the gender‐similarities hypothesis in the microfinance context (Mia, 2020a). Moreover, due to short‐term nature of the loan and its frequent payment installments (weekly or monthly), clients of MFIs frequently meet with their loan officers, consequently building their loyalty (Godfroid, 2019).…”

“…Since the inception of microfinance, the global client base has always been dominated by female folks (Mia, 2020a). Compared to male clients, female clients are more inclined to repay loans without being acclaimed defaulters and this significantly augments the profit margin of MFIs (Abdullah & Quayes, 2016).…”