There are many reasons why a development finance institution (DFI) would want to conduct a gender assessment. For the Federated States of Micronesia Development Bank (FSMDB), the objectives included better serving women entrepreneurs and thereby growing its client base, formalising gender equality in policies and operations, and meeting the gender requirements of international funders such as the Green Climate Fund, says Senior Vice President Alik J Alik.
A gender assessment provides a systematic evaluation of policies, operations and client engagement through a gender lens. It is often a critical first step for DFIs seeking to mainstream gender across operations. Tafi Razemba, the Operations Manager for the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Corporation (SMEDCO) in Zimbabwe, says: “We knew that we were already working to empower women, but we needed a structured approach. The gender assessment helped us identify where we stood and what needed to be done.”
FSMDB and SMEDCO are among several DFIs in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries that have secured technical assistance from the ICR Facility to conduct a gender assessment. Both institutions shared practical lessons learned for other DFIs and outlined how their gender assessment is spurring positive change.
What a gender assessment entails
Typically, gender assessments include a review of the institution’s loan portfolio and financial products and the collection of sex-disaggregated data on loan distribution, income disparities and asset ownership. They also involve a review and staff surveys to identify internal gaps in gender inclusion and external consultations to understand challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in accessing finance. As Norleen Oliver, FSMDB’s Gender Specialist puts it: “We’re in the business of getting customers and we need to understand our full market, not just a piece of the market.”
What it can reveal
When reviewing SMEDCO’s assessment results, Tafi Razemba was “surprised that almost everyone agreed that we should create a more gender-aware workplace”. But there was work to do as gender awareness among employees varied, female staff reported lower job satisfaction and were underrepresented in senior roles, and gender was not fully integrated into day-to-day decision-making.
Similar findings emerged from FSMDB’s assessment, which showed that some staff were not fully aware of gender-related policies and viewed these as donor-driven rather than essential to business practice. And while women held many senior roles, FSMDB struggled to recruit male employees for certain positions because of a reluctance by some men, rooted in cultural attitudes, to work under female leaders.
The assessments also revealed gender disparities in loan approvals due to existing collateral standards. Since land is typically inherited by sons in both countries, “women often don’t have their names on property deeds, so they can’t meet collateral requirements”, Razemba explains.
Crucially, the assessments provided evidence for action. “We thought our staff understood gender requirements, but the assessment showed the need to codify gender policies and procedures,” says Alik. Razemba adds: “It helped senior leadership understand the issues and allowed them to make decisions about what they can do internally to make women feel included.”
Key recommendations
- Secure leadership buy-in. A strong executive endorsement was critical in overcoming initial resistance from SMEDCO staff who viewed the assessment as compliance-driven. “Our CEO, who is male, was very committed to it from the beginning and got the senior team to see that this is serious, not just a tick-box exercise,” says Razemba.
- Build trust to ensure participation. Initially, staff doubted the survey’s anonymity, resulting in low response rates. “They were worried about sharing things like, ‘I don’t see myself working here in another five years’,” Razemba explains, but assurances of confidentiality improved participation.
- Consult a range of stakeholders. “My advice to other DFIs is: be as inclusive as possible, so that all sectors of society are represented,” says Alik. Surveys and interviews provide insights into cultural dynamics and operational blind spots. “The survey helped us hear how clients and staff really viewed us and our services,” says Razemba. For example, it revealed that “some women are afraid to even enter an office and talk to a man about their business”. And FSMDB learned that some women entrepreneurs believed there was a bias in favour of male loan applicants and that its loan application process was more complex than those of competitors.
- Collect good sex-disaggregated data. Few DFIs have analysed sex-disaggregated data before conducting gender assessments. These assessments fill knowledge gaps, shifting perceptions and supporting evidence-based policies. “My challenge was for staff to understand the value of gender. But now that we’re generating sex-disaggregated data, they’re beginning to see the difference and understand why it matters,” says Oliver. “Don’t just assume you know how gender plays out in your institution,” adds Razemba. “Get the data, see the trends, and then act on them.”
- Act on the findings. The assessments led both DFIs to bolster gender policies and plans. “My role is to take the findings from the gender assessment and translate them into concrete actions. This means integrating gender into loan products, policies, and daily banking operations,” says Oliver. One area of focus is internal capacity-building, and Oliver has developed culturally relevant training materials and delivered staff training across all bank branches. SMEDCO, too, has introduced gender awareness training and is integrating gender indicators into performance contracts to ensure that each department and employee is accountable for gender-related actions. “Gender is now part of our language internally,” says Razemba. “From the boardroom to field officers, everyone is expected to understand and promote gender inclusion.”
- Integrate gender into products and services. FSMDB aims to ensure that 50% of total loan disbursements goes to women. To that end, it is simplifying loan applications and providing staff support to help applicants overcome financial literacy barriers. Furthermore, it now accepts alternative collateral for loans under US$10,000, such as demonstrated income and repayment capacity, to make it easier for women to qualify. To help meet its target, FSMDB has developed a performance measurement framework that has indicators for gender-responsive lending and integrates sex-disaggregated data collection across loan products. Similarly, SMEDCO has introduced a new loan management system capable of generating customised, sex-disaggregated reports. “It’s really helping us track and analyse gender-related data more effectively,” said Razemba. It is also improving outreach by engaging directly with women-owned businesses, particularly in rural areas through events with its line ministry.
- Consider the bigger picture. Gender assessments can unlock economic opportunities for women which in turn benefit DFIs, the economy and society. “It opens us up to more collaboration and financing opportunities, particularly for women-focused initiatives,” Razemba explains. She adds that, “women are generally more risk averse, but we’ve seen that they are the better clients when it comes to loan repayment”, which is good for the bottom line. And since women tend to use business profits to support their households and communities, “the more we empower them financially, the more we uplift families and communities as a whole”.
- Advance your mission. DFIs are often partially government-owned and tasked with supporting their country’s development objectives and expanding access to finance for underserved groups. “Having this assessment helps us meet our financial inclusion mandate more effectively,” says Razemba.
- Hire or appoint a gender champion. “Without a dedicated person to push this work forward [initially], gender mainstreaming will struggle,” says Oliver, “but my goal is to make sure that, one day, I’m no longer needed – because gender will be fully embedded in the way we do business.”
Find out more: The ICR Facility has developed a series of Training Briefs for DFIs on gender, including a primer on conducting a gender assessment.
