Revolution, Interrupted: Gender and Microfinance in Nicaragua

Haase, Dwight

doi:10.1177/0896920511404443

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…As highlighted in previous research, gender relations vary both geographically and over time and therefore should always be investigated in specific contexts and pertain to realities of women’s lives rather than being based on a generalized assumption that they are oppressed ( Mosedale, 2005 ; Haase, 2011 ; Kurtiş and Adams, 2015 ). Indeed, due to the diversity in interventions and cultural differences, access to microfinance cannot be expected to have one single consistent impact story ( Garikipati et al, 2016b ).…”

Section: Three-dimensional Women’s Empowerment Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Three-Dimensional Model of Women’s Empowerment: Implications in the Field of Microfinance and Future Directions

et al. 2017

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Women’s empowerment is an important goal in achieving sustainable development worldwide. Offering access to microfinance services to women is one way to increase women’s empowerment. However, empirical evidence provides mixed results with respect to its effectiveness. We reviewed previous research on the impact of microfinance services on different aspects of women’s empowerment. We propose a Three-Dimensional Model of Women’s Empowerment to integrate previous findings and to gain a deeper understanding of women’s empowerment in the field of microfinance services. This model proposes that women’s empowerment can take place on three distinct dimensions: (1) the micro-level, referring to an individuals’ personal beliefs as well as actions, where personal empowerment can be observed (2) the meso-level, referring to beliefs as well as actions in relation to relevant others, where relational empowerment can be observed and (3) the macro-level, referring to outcomes in the broader, societal context where societal empowerment can be observed. Importantly, we propose that time and culture are important factors that influence women’s empowerment. We suggest that the time lag between an intervention and its evaluation may influence when empowerment effects on the different dimensions occur and that the type of intervention influences the sequence in which the three dimensions can be observed. We suggest that cultures may differ with respect to which components of empowerment are considered indicators of empowerment and how women’s position in society may influence the development of women’s empowerment. We propose that a Three-Dimensional Model of Women’s Empowerment should guide future programs in designing, implementing, and evaluating their interventions. As such our analysis offers two main practical implications. First, based on the model we suggest that future research should differentiate between the three dimensions of women’s empowerment to increase our understanding of women’s empowerment and to facilitate comparisons of results across studies and cultures. Second, we suggest that program designers should specify how an intervention should stimulate which dimension(s) of women’s empowerment. We hope that this model inspires longitudinal and cross-cultural research to examine the development of women’s empowerment on the personal, relational, and societal dimension.

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Section: Three-dimensional Women’s Empowerment Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Three-Dimensional Model of Women’s Empowerment: Implications in the Field of Microfinance and Future Directions

et al. 2017

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“…The FSLN government's apparent expectation that nurses will simply absorb an expansion of demand on the public hospitals and clinics is in keeping with other ways that it falls back on an essentialist view of gender and care work. This is exemplified in its continuation of targeted poverty reduction programs begun under the neoliberal era that rely on women's voluntary labor (Haase 2012;Martínez Franzoni and Voorend 2011;Neumann 2013). This entrenches what Sylvia Chant calls the "gendered burden of poverty" (Chant 2008) and what Caroline Moser (1993) refers to as women's "triple role" (their responsibility for income generation, household care work, and community development).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patriarchy, New Left Post-Neoliberalism, and the Valuing of Care Work: The Labor Conditions of Nicaraguan Nurses under Sandinismo’s “Second Stage”

Kowalchuk

2022

Lat. American Res. Rev.

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This article examines how the labor conditions of nurses in Nicaragua have evolved through twenty-five years of health care policy and regime transition, focusing on the period since the return to power in 2007 of the Frente Sandinista de la Liberación Nacional (FSLN). I ask whether the deterioration in nurses' work-related well-being that were imposed by neoliberal health care restructuring have been redressed by the FSLN. I connect findings from interviews and focus groups with over fifty nurses to long-standing patterns in the gendering of care work, as well as the Sandinista track record in exploiting these patterns. Also relevant is the FSLN's mutual antagonism with feminist movements and its incremental but pronounced turn toward a regressive stance on gender equality. Finally, a steady drift toward authoritarianism by the FSLN government constrains the capacity for nurses to collectively assert their interests as workers and professionals. Este artículo examina la evolución de las condiciones laborales de las enfermeras nicaragüenses durante 25 años de políticas de salud y de transiciones del gobierno, con un enfoque principal sobre el período después del retorno al poder del Frente Sandinista para la Liberación Nacional (FSLN) en 2007. De interés particular son los deterios de las condiciones y el bienestar de las enfermeras a raíz de la reestructuración neoliberal en la salud. Se indaga hasta qué medida estos han sido abordados por el FSLN. Al presentar los hallazgos de entrevistas y grupos de enfoque con más de 50 enfermeras, se examina cómo la falta de mejoramiento en su situación está relacionada con patrones de larga trayectoria en la relación género y trabajo de cuido, y con la tendencia de los sandinistas de explotar estos patrones. De relevancia también es el antagonismo mutuo entre el FSLN y los movimientos feministas, y el paulatino pero marcado rechazo de parte del FSLN hacia la equidad de género. Por fin, la gradual deriva del gobierno del FSLN hacia el autoritarismo restringe la capacidad de las enfermeras de reclamar colectivamente sus intereses como trabajadores y profesionales.

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“…Over the past few decades, one of the most popular methods espoused for including women in the formal economy is through the provision of microcredit loans to women living in poverty (Das & Pulla, ; Haase, ). Microcredit loans are very small loans, often ranging from $50 to $1,000, given to individuals to improve their prospects for self‐employment.…”

Section: Women and The Formal Economymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, receiving a loan typically comes with the assumption that one will be able to pay it back, which can create new dimensions of burden and oppression for women living in already marginalized conditions (Kabeer, ; Karim, ). Consequently, microcredit loans may not provide women with the necessary tools and resources to address the root sources of gender inequity that are often intricately woven into the norms of behavior between women and men in local communities (Haase, ). Still, it remains a harsh reality that capitalist policies have come to dominate the global economy, and however inequitable the system may be, the ability to participate even modestly may be preferable to having no ability at all.…”

Section: Women and The Formal Economymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Inherent within much of the support for microcredit loans is a belief that women's increased involvement in a capitalist economy will enhance their well‐being. Such assumptions are frequently driven by Western, individualistic values, which equate market participation with prosperity and, in turn, well‐being (Haase, ; Kabeer, ; Karim, ; Mayoux, ). Meanwhile, researchers across the social sciences have demonstrated that capitalist policies provide the most benefit to those who at the onset possess greater financial power, and in many cases are detrimental to those with less financial security (Mayoux, ; Wieringa, ).…”

Section: Women and The Formal Economymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring Links between Women's Business Ownership and Empowerment among Maasai Women in Tanzania

Dutt

Grabe

Castro

2015

Anal Soc Iss & Public Policy

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Despite increasing interest and effort to support women's empowerment globally, women remain a severely disadvantaged group in nearly every country throughout the globe. In the current study, we examine the relationship between women's participation in financial markets and different indices of empowerment. Questionnaires were administered to three groups of Maasai women (N = 224) living in rural, northern Tanzania: women who were members of cooperatively owned business groups, women who owned businesses independently via microcredit loans, and women who did not own businesses. Group difference tests revealed that cooperative business owners reported higher levels of agency than independent owners, and lower levels of partner control and greater involvement in financial decision making than nonbusiness owners. Independent owners reported greater involvement in financial decision making, and lower levels of agency than nonowners. Additionally, results from structural equation models demonstrated that participation in cooperatives, versus independent or nonbusiness ownership, was associated with fewer experiences of domestic violence and enhanced psychological well-being via the effects of partner control, agency, and financial decision making. Policy implications regarding the importance of considering

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Revolution, Interrupted: Gender and Microfinance in Nicaragua

Cited by 11 publications

References 40 publications

A Three-Dimensional Model of Women’s Empowerment: Implications in the Field of Microfinance and Future Directions

A Three-Dimensional Model of Women’s Empowerment: Implications in the Field of Microfinance and Future Directions

Patriarchy, New Left Post-Neoliberalism, and the Valuing of Care Work: The Labor Conditions of Nicaraguan Nurses under Sandinismo’s “Second Stage”

Exploring Links between Women's Business Ownership and Empowerment among Maasai Women in Tanzania

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