“Greening” Gender Equity: Microfinance and the Sustainable Development Agenda

Abstract:

In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and multiple natural disasters, the sustainable development agenda has regained popularity, although the meaning of the term “sustainable development” remains contested. I follow the conceptualization emerging from the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012 of three interlocking dimensions: economic, environmental, and social. Focusing on the social-environmental nexus of sustainable development, I consider the relationship between gender equity and the environment before turning to one of the most popular interventions for gender equity in the developing world, microfinance. Although microfinance typically is examined along the social-economic nexus (improving gender empowerment via earned income opportunities), I explore its relationship to environmental sustainability and make suggestions for improving the capacity of microfinance in this area.

Keywords::

• development
• entrepreneurship
• environment
• equity
• gender
• green economy
• informal sector
• microfinance
• policy
• sustainable development

JEL Classification Codes::

• B52
• B54
• G21
• J48
• O13
• O17
• O21
• Q01
• Q56

Notes

¹ The MDGs consist of eight goals: eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability; global partnership for development. These goals have corresponding targets agreed upon by countries around the world as well as development institutions in 2000 (UN 2014).

² Responsibility for caregiving and unpaid household labor leaves women and girls “time poor,” with fewer available hours in the day to devote to remunerated or educational activities (Abdourahman 2010).

³ Best results occurred in all-women groups.

⁴ Green jobs produce goods and services that “benefit the environment or conserve natural resources,” or make their “establishment’s production processes more environmentally friendly” (Bureau of Labor Statistics 2014).

⁵ For the tool and information about conducting a social and environmental audit, see www.cerise-spi4.org/.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tonia Warnecke

Tonia Warnecke is an associate professor of business and social entrepreneurship and co-director of the Center for India and South Asia at Rollins College, FL.