The dream of owning and successfully running a business is restricted by significant barriers for

However, the contributions of women to the economy have gone unrecognized and unvalued. Also, there is unequal opportunities between men and women in the workforce, which means that women do not receive an opportunity at demonstrating their ability to lift themselves from poverty and similar issues, and their options to improve their lives are limited or nonexistent. However, I feel that what men do not realize when oppressing women is that women make up half of the world's population. This ultimately means that women also make up half the workforce. A nation that limits women and discriminates against them cannot reach it's full potential or productiveness. On the other hand, if a country's government, businesses, and overall, the communities invest in women, developing countries are less likely to be striken by poverty. Women are educated to wisely manage the money that they earn, which results in less poverty because they will know how to save and spend her money properly. To add on, economic empowered women raise healthier and better educated children, which results in children that will continue to manage money wisely, with their mother's guidance, and ultimately this would lead to a decrease in poverty. Economic empowerment means not only reducing

Through these stories, Kristof and WuDunn help us see that the key to economic progress lies in unleashing women’s potential. They make clear how so many people have helped to do just that, and how we can each do our part. Throughout much of the world, the greatest unexploited economic resource is the female half of the population. Countries such as China have prospered precisely because they emancipated women and brought them into the formal economy. Unleashing that process globally is not only the right thing to do; it’s also the best strategy for fighting poverty.

    Women in developing countries take out loans to start businesses and make money. Women struggling to make money take out these loans start a business to make money and pay off the debt from taking the loan. They are able to further support their family along with themselves as the debt is paid off and the business makes more money. Individuals living in poverty filled communities rely on informal employment to make money. Micro-credits have been directed more towards women because they invest money in goods and services. They do not need to depend on their husband for money when they have their own business to make money. When women take out loans to start their businesses they get stronger and get independence from their husband. When women invest in good and give services they help their family and themselves in an effective way. This could benefit women in poverty towards coming out of poverty.

In both developing and emerging economies, microfinance has vastly and increasingly been seen as one of the most important means for enhancing the lives of the poor and therefore a major tool for economic and social development mostly in rural areas. Lately, contrary to this widespread belief, critics have raised eyebrows against this growing popularity of microfinance as a major tool for enhancing economic development. Contrary to belief, they are of the opinion that microfinance is a ‘make-belief’ that is hindering economic and social development rather than enhancing it.

The book, Microfinance and its Discontent: Women in Debt in Bangladesh written by Lamia Karim, gives us account on what causes a culture to be known as “economy of shame” status, such as in the case of Bangladesh. She writes on a subject that is a top list priority in the economical world these days, the corrupt ways NGO’s lenders do business not only in Bangladesh but across the world, however, she centralizes her views on Bangladesh and only a handful of NGO’s. Even though this was primarily a look at Bangladesh, it has resulted in capturing the attention of people across the globe not only with the NGO’s mention in the book but resulting in a closer look at all NGO’s and how they serve the people. Karim shares with the readers how the 1980’s nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) led in the way of microfinance institutions and claimed that they were providing women with an empowerment tool by issuing them loans. We find that over 80% of borrows are women and most are economically challenged already. With that being stated Karim also takes a look at how and why that is, she discusses the long term effects it is having on women and how it is furthering the exploitation of women in Bangladesh. She looked at how this type of exploitation has not only weakened further women’s economy in Bangladesh but has also strengthen the power NGO’s have over the people (mainly women) at the same time. It takes a look at this type of expansion and brands NGO’s use as a “shadow state

Throughout history, countless groups of people have unfortunately been victims of subjugation, disenfranchisement and persecution. But perhaps one group of people that have continued to be subjugated the most are the same group of people that makeup the majority of people on earth; women. Despite of all the progress made in recent decades, there are still tens of millions of women a year who are repeatedly victims of infanticide and the deprivation of healthcare. Now although there are no universal panaceas for female inequality, the consensus among academics and researchers is that educating women, investing in female businesses and fostering female participation in the work force are ways to shrink the gap. Finally, it is legitimate for the United States and other countries to export feminism regardless of cultural differences because the lives of millions of women are at stake if they fail to do so.

Women have started to become more educated, with an increased number of women attending universities each year. But everyone who has an education is not guaranteed a job, with women taking up fifty four percent of students in universities but only take up twenty six percent of jobs and eight percent of legislators in Lebanon (Davies). Most women did not always have an opportunity to receive an education, but the minority of women in higher classes have been given the opportunity to receive a higher education because of the wealth (PBS). This resulted in the power to ignore gender norms and become workers in both the business and political worlds. Today women are encouraged to find jobs in government to insure them equal wages, treatments, and benefits which jobs in the private sector lack (Islaih). In the Middle East, it is hard for women to obtain property, since the sons in the family inherit the land and it is also discouraged to even purchase land (Islaih). Without access to land it is nearly impossible for women to receive credit cards and take loans from the bank (Islaih). This results in women being unable to start their own businesses because they lack startup capital which limits their chance of becoming successful, and leading by example, to show the Middle Eastern world that women can become the heads of big businesses and succeed.

According to the World Bank, women make up 70% of the world’s poor and their wages world wide are on average 50% to 80% of men’s. One third of all households word wide are headed by women, they are responsible for half the world’s food production, and yet they own just one per cent of the world’s property. The majority of workers in sweatshops are women and the majority of unpaid labour is done by women in every region of the world. Further, women make up two-thirds of the one billion people who are illiterate and 60% of the 100 million who have no access to primary education.

Microfinancing produces many benefits for poverty stricken, or low- income households. One of the benefits is that it is very accessible. Banks today simply won’t extend loans to those with little to no assets, and generally don’t engage in small size loans typically associated with microfinancing. Through microfinancing small loans are produced and accessible. Microfinancing is based on the philosophy that even small amounts of credit can help end the cycle of poverty. Another benefit produced from the microfinancing initiative is that it presents opportunities, such as extending education and jobs. Families receiving microfinancing are less likely to pull their children out of school for economic reasons. As well, in relation to employment,

Some countries have social stigmas that look down upon outsiders or women doing anything other than housework and raising a family, but putting more people to work not only provides more food put it also provides more money for their families. “The women have made progress in fighting hunger and poverty within an area characterized with high levels of food scarcity de to its semi-arid feature, attracting low levels of rainfall,” (“Feature: Kenya’s women fight hunger, poverty with bee products”). Members of villages have found that allowing their women to work outside of the home is helping especially in areas that have droughts and there crops die. A vice chair member in kenya has said “It is a good thing to see women do something to escape

In many developing countries globalization has brought masses of wealth to the elite at the expense of the poor. Consequently, many women of the poorer classes leave their homeland in search of opportunities for employment. These women are disproportionately affected by

The modern world has resulted in earnings, wages and salaries for the women similar to that of men, but the women are continuously facing inequalities in the work force (Andal 2002). This can be attributed to the pre-established notion that women shall not be given access to finance or communication with the world outside of the home which is highly unethical and unfair (Eisenhower, 2002). In the past, they were considered as the underprivileged ones which were not thought of having equal rights but this fact has changed now. For instance, the status of women can be explicitly defined as the equality and the freedom of the women.

This article addresses four main points. First, at the UN’s Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, the significance of women’s contribution was emphasized by the World Bank. However, according to the authors, the perception of women as goods was strengthened by the World Bank because of its emphasis on economic outcomes and its consequent failure to pay attention to the meaning of women’s empowerment and gender equality. Second, the World Bank, UN agencies and other institutions were observed to value only young women and girls, thus completely ignoring men’s role . Third, despite the existence of programs encouraging women empowerment such as microfinance and conditional cash transfers, women are forced to work for their livelihood coupled with the burden of housework. The authors also cast doubt on the notion that investing in young women and girls leads to the promotion of women’s empowerment and gender equality, or actually improves the economy as they are often unconsciously regarded as cheaper labor . Therefore, they underscored that while smart economics might

Women in Bangladesh have had a long history of exploitation and have faced discrimination due to their gender. Bangladeshi women came to the international attention in the form of cheap and docile labour. Traditionally, the idea of separate spheres, where men are the breadwinners and women look after the household, comprised the typical Bangladeshi household. Due to the impact of globalization, the economic stability of the country has been severely destroyed and has forced many women to work for longer hours that seem not enough to let the ends meet. Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha (BNPS) is an agency for empowerment of women in Bangladesh and states that the current trend of globalization in Bangladesh, has an exploitative nature which is extreme to women in the society. Rural women have been working quite long in the agricultural sector, but with the commercialization of the agricultural sector, many women have migrated to the city centers such as Dhaka and working for garment or other industries for minimum wage. Women have a limited scope of economic development in a Bangladeshi society and are paid less than the men, due to the socio-political structure, as well as their lack of education, which is governed by the patriarchal ideology. Given that,

This September is the 20th anniversary of a speech made by former US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton. In the speech, Clinton made the famous remark, “Women’s rights are human rights”. Since the speech, focus on gender equality has increased, especially in the workplace. Yet, some industries, like private equity, continue to have problem in attracting women.