This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
This journal is licensed by a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International. For the CC licenses, the principle isthe creative freedom. This system complements the copyright without opposing it, conscious of its importance in our culture. The content of the articles is the responsibility of each author, and does not compromise in any way, to the journal or the university. It allows the transmission and reproduction of titles, abstracts and full content, with academic, scientific, cultural ends, provided acknowledgment of the respective source. This work cannot be used for commercial purposes.
They journal does not charge authors for submission or publication.
Abstract
The objective of this investigation is to determine the influence of the female labor force on the performance of the microfinance institutions (IMFs) of Latin America and the Caribbean (ALCA). Based on data obtained in the Mix Market, the influence of women was analyzed in positions as loan officers, managers and board members of 171 IMFS from 18 countries in the region during the period 2010–2018, on the efficiency, productivity, financial performance and outreach. The results show that female loan officers and female managers have a positive influence on performance while female board do it negatively. However, when analyzing the influence of the female boards on those boards where they have a majority participation, a better performance is observed. It is recommended to increase the female presence in the IMFs workforce, especially at higher levels.
Keywords:
References
Adams, R., & Ferreira, D. (2009). Women in the board room and their impact on governance and performance. Journal of Financial Economics, 94(2), 291-309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2008.10.007
Adhikary, S., & Papachristou, G. (2014). Is there a trade-off between financial performance and outreach in South Asian Microfinance institutions? Journal of Developing Areas, 48(4), 381-402. https://doi.org/10.1353/jda.2014.0081
Adusei, M., Akomea, S., & Poku, K. (2017). Board and management gender diversity and financial performance of microfinance institutions. Cogent Business & Management, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2017.1360030
Armendáriz, B., & Morduch, J. (2005). Microeconomics of Microfinance. MIT Press.
Artigas, M., Novales-Flamarique, M., & Callegaro, H. (2014). Women Matter: A Latin American Perspective. Unlocking Women’s Potential to Enhance Corporate Performance. McKinsey & Company. https://www.empowerwomen.org/es/resources/documents/2014/6/women-matter-a-latin-american-perspective?lang=en
Auguste, S., & Galetto, B. (2020). Género y acceso al financiamiento empresario en Argentina. Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo. http://doi.org/10.18235/0002371
Augustine, D., Wheat, C., Jones, K., Baraldi, M., & Malgwi, C. (2016). Gender diversity within the workforce in the microfinance industry in Africa: Economic performance and sustainability. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 33(3), 227-241. https://doi.org/10.1002/cjas.1365
Beck, T., Behr, P., & Guettler, A. (2013). Gender and banking: Are women better loan officers? Review of Finance, 17(4), 1279-1321.http://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1443107
Bernardi, R. A., & Threadgill, V. H. (2010). Women directors and corporate social responsibility. Electronic Journal of Business Ethics and Organization Studies, 15(2), 15-21. http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-201201301096
Bernardo, M., Casadesus, M., Karapetrovic, S., & Heras I. (2009). How integrated are environmental, quality and other standardized management systems? An empirical study. Journal of Cleaner Production, 17(8), 742-750. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2008.11.003
Bezboruah, K., & Pillai, V. (2015). Exploring the participation of women in financial cooperatives and credit unions in developing countries. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 26(3), 913-940. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-014-9467-9
Bibi, U., Ozer, H., Matthews, C. & Tripe, D. (2018). Impact of gender and governance on microfinance efficiency. Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions & Money, 53, 307-319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intfin.2017.12.008
Boubacar, H. (2020). Women’s presence in top management and the performance of microfinance institutions in West Africa. International Journal of Social Economics, 47(2), 207-222. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-06-2019-0365
Boulouta, I. (2013). Hidden connections: The link between board gender diversity and corporate social performance. Journal of Business Ethics, 113, 185-197. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1293-7
Burgess, E., Martínez, M., Magnoni, B., Carballo, I. & Hainze, A. (2016). Empezando por casa. El liderazgo femenino en las Entidades de Microfinanzas en América Latina y el Caribe. Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo. 15. https://publications.iadb.org/es/empezando-por-casa-el-liderazgo-femenino-en-las-entidades-de-microfinanzas-en-america-latina-y-el
Caudill, S., Gropper, D. & Hartarska, V. (2012). Microfinance institution costs: Effects of gender, subsidies and technology. Journal of Financial Economic Policy, 4(4), 292-319. https://doi.org/10.1108/17576381211279271
Costa, R. R. A. da. (2017). The relationship between the performance and legal form of microfinance institutions. Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, 28(75), 377-389. https://doi.org/10.1590/1808-057x201703660
Cull, R., & Morduch, J. (2007). Financial performance and outreach: A global analysis of leading microbanks. The Economic Journal, 117(517), 107-133. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2007.02017.x
D’Espallier, B., Guerin, I., & Mersland, R. (2013). Focus on women in microfinance institutions. Journal of Development Studies, 49(5), 589-608. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2012.720364
Eagly, A., & Johannesen-Schmidt, M. (2001). The leadership styles of women and men. Journal of Social Issues, 57, 781-97. https://doi.org/10.1111/0022-4537.00241
Fall, F., Tchakoute, H., Vanhems, A., & Simar, L. (2021). Gender effect on microfinance social efficiency: A robust nonparametric approach. European Journal of Operational Research, 295(2), 744-757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2021.03.020
Flabbi, L., Piras, C., & Abrahams, S. (2017). Female corporate leadership in Latin America and the Caribbean region: Representation and Firm-Level Outcomes. International Journal of Manpower, 38(6), 790-818. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-10-2015-0180
García-Sánchez, I., Rodríguez, L., & Gallego, I. (2008). La influencia del consejo de administración en la adopción de un código ético. Revista de Contabilidad, 11(2), 93-120. https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=359733632004
García-Sánchez, I., Rodríguez-Ariza, L., & Granada-Abarzuza, M (2021). The influence of female directors and institutional pressures on corporate social responsibility in family firms in Latin America. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 14(28). https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm14010028
Giannarakis, G., Konteos, G., & Sariannidis, N. (2014). Financial, governance and environmental determinants of corporate socially responsible disclosure. Manager Decision, 52(10), 1928-1951. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-05-2014-0296
Ghosh, C. & Guha, S. (2019). Role of gender on the performance of Indian IMFs. Gender in Management, 34(6), 429-443. https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-03-2019-0036
Gohar, R., & Batool, A. (2015) Effect of corporate governance on performance of microfinance institutions: A case from Pakistan. Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, 51(6), 94-106. https://doi.org/10.1080/1540496X.2015.1080559
Greene, W. H. (2012). Econometric Analysis. Prentice Hall.
Gudjonsson, S., Kristinsson, K., Gylfason, H., & Minelgaite, I. (2020). Female advantage? Management and financial performance in microfinance. Business: Theory and Practice, 21(1), 83-91. https://doi.org/10.3846/btp.2020.11354
Hartarska, V., Mersland, R., & Nadolnyak, D. (2014). Are women better bankers to the poor? Evidence from rural microfinance institutions. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 96(5), 1291-1306. http://doi.org/10.1093/ajae/aau061
Hermes, N., Lensink, R., & Meesters, A. (2011). Outreach and efficiency of microfinance institutions. World Development, 36(6), 938-948. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2009.10.018
Irimia-Diéguez, A., Blanco-Oliver, A., & Oliver-Alfonso, M. (2016). Modelización de la autosuficiencia de las instituciones microfinancieras mediante regresión logística basada en análisis de componentes principales. Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Science, 21(40), 30-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jefas.2015.12.002
Khisamitova, A., Stepanova, A., & Kokoreva, M. (2019). Go for a woman if you feel risky: Evidence from gender diversity in MFIs. Journal of Corporate Finance Research, 13(3), 19-34. https://doi.org/10.17323/j.jcfr.2073-0438.13.3.2019.19-34
Ledgerwood, J., & White, V. (2006). Transforming Microfinance Institutions: Providing Full Financial Services to the Poor. World Bank. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-0-8213-6615-8
Lynch, E. (2009). Transforming the Landscape of Leadership in Microfinance: Maintaining the Focus on Women. Women’s World Banking. https://www.womensworldbanking.org/insights-and-impact/publications_transforming-landscape-leadership-microfinance-maintaining-focus-women/
Memon, A., Akram, W., & Abbas, G. (2022). Women participation in achieving sustainability of microfinance institutions (MFIs). Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, 12(2), 593-611. https://doi.org/10.1080/20430795.2020.1790959
Mersland, R. y Strøm, R. Ø. (2009). Performance and governance in microfinance institutions. Journal of Banking & Finance, 33(4), 662–669. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2008.11.009
Minzer, R. (2011). Las instituciones microfinancieras en América Latina: factores que explican su desempeño. Cepal.https://repositorio.cepal.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/d90bbd79-d0c3-4d01-b476-53a3ef0048f5/content
Montoya, A., Parrado, E., Solís, A., & Undurraga, R. (2020). Discriminación de género en el mercado de créditos de consumo en Chile. Evidencia experimental. Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina. https://www.cmfchile.cl/portal/estadisticas/617/articles-28177_doc_pdf.pdf
Mori, N., & Olomi, D. R. (2012). The Effect of Boards on the Performance of Microfinance Institutions: Evidence from Tanzania and Kenya. REPOA. https://www.repoa.or.tz/?publication=the-effect-of-boards-on-the-performance-of-microfinance-institutions
Naciones Unidas (2018, 14 de febrero). Las mujeres están por debajo de los hombres en todos los indicadores de desarrollo sostenible. https://news.un.org/es/story/2018/02/1427081
Nasrin, S., Baskaran, A., Rasiah, R., & Mehedi, M. (2018). What determines the financial performance of microfinance institutions in Bangladesh? A panel data analysis. Qual Quant, 52(4), 1409-1422. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-017-0528-1
Périlleux, A., & Szafarz, A. (2015). Women leaders and social performance evidence from financial cooperatives in Senegal. World Development, 74(C), 437-452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2015.05.011
Quayes, S. (2012). Depth of outreach and financial sustainability of microfinance institutions. Applies Economics, 44(26), 3421-3433. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2011.577016
Setó-Pamies, D. (2015). The relationship between women directors and corporate social responsibility. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 22(6), 334-345. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1349
Strøm, R., D’Espallier, B., & Mersland, R. (2014). Female leadership, performance, and governance in microfinance institutions. Journal of Banking & Finance, 42, 60-75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2014.01.014
Strøm, R., D'Espallier, B., & Mersland, R. (2016, 24 de febrero). Female Leaders and Financial Inclusion. Evidence from Microfinance Institutions. Working Papers CEB 16-019. Universite Libre de Bruxelles. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2737287
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1986). The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. En S. Worchel & W. G. Austin (Eds.), Psychology of Intergroup Relation (pp. 7-24). Hall Publishers.
Tchakoute-Tchuigoua, H. (2010). Is there a difference in performance by the legal status of microfinance institutions? The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, 50(4), 436-442. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qref.2010.07.003
Thrikawala, S., Locke, S., & Reddy, K. (2018). Financial performance of microfinance institutions (MFIs): Does gender diversity matters? International Journal of Gender Studies in Developing Societies, 2(2), 91-110. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJGSDS.2017.10010287
Van den Berg, M., Lensink, R., & Servin, R. (2015). Loan Officers’ Gender and Microfinance Repayment Rates. The Journal of Development Studies, 51(9), 1241-1254. http://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2014.997218
Verma, M. (2017). The gender role on MFIs Performance: A distinctive trend. Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review, 7(2), 1-6. http://doi.org/10.4172/2223-5833.1000300
Vishwakarma, R. (2017). Women on board and its impact on performance: Evidence from microfinance sector. Indian Journal of Corporate Governance, 10(1), 58-73. https://doi.org/10.1177/0974686217701465