MICROCAPITAL EVENT: Women's World Banking (WWB) Center for Microfinance Leadership & University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business Center for Leadership and Change Management to Hold Workshop in Bangalore, India, January 2010

Event Name: Women in Leadership

Event Date: January 2010

Event Location: Bangalore, India (specific location not yet disclosed)

See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events

Cost: Not yet disclosed

*The Financial Women’s Association (FWA) annually sponsors a scholarship for female leaders to attend the WWB Women in Leadership Workshop through its Lenore Albom Microfinance Initiative [1]. Last summer the FWA sponsored three women from Uganda, Nigeria and India [2]. FWA hopes to raise USD 5, 000 to support two women this year. For information on how and where to make a donation, please visit: http://connections.fwa.org/e_article001446533.cfm?x=b11,0,w.

Who Should Attend?

The conference is aimed at females in mid- and senior-level management at microfinance institutions (MFIs) [3].

Summary of Event:

The objective of the Women in Leadership Workshop is to develop women’s leadership skills, provide a forum for women in microfinance to network with one another, and to assist attendees in creating action plans for the pursuit of top positions in their respective organizations. Mentors will be assigned to participants to help them develop individualized action plans according to their goals and specific area of business [1].

Event Theme and Topics:

Building support around women’s leadership

Creating incentives and evaluation processes
Personal stories of the women who lead these institutions [1]

Background on Organizer:

Women’s World Banking (WWB) is a network consisting of 51 microfinance providers and banks working in 29 countries (as of December 2008), offering financial services to low-income entrepreneurs. WWB was established in 1997 and is headquartered in New York City, NY, U.S. [4]. As of December 31, 2008, WWB reported total assets of USD 25, 112, 054 [5]. WWB has established core performance indicators and standards for their microfinance partners. These indicators can be found at: http://www.themix.org/sites/default/files/MIX_2001_11_MBB7.pdf. As of 2000,

Since 2006, WWB has hosted three “Women in Leadership” Workshops, training a total of 80 participants from 30 institutions in 21 countries. In 2008, 31 women completed the workshop. The Women’s Leadership Development Program was launched in 2005 to respond to what individuals at WWB believed to be declining numbers of women in the senior ranks of WWB’s network members [1].

Background on Partners:

The Wharton Center for Leadership and Change Management at the University of Pennsylvania was established for the purpose of undertaking a number of initiatives. Center initiatives include collaboration with the World Economic Forum and Wharton Center for Risk Management and Decision Process on issues of leadership in preparing for and responding to natural disasters; work with Hewitt Associates in association with Fortune magazine on identifying the world’s best companies for leadership development; and co-sponsorship with France’s INSEAD business school of a research conference on leadership. It also supports three nation-centered programs: the China initiative, the India initiative, and the Russia imitative [6]. For more information, please visit: http://leadership.wharton.upenn.edu/welcome/index.shtml.

The Financial Women’s Association (FWA) is a non-profit organization that was established in 1956. The FWA offers over 100 programs annually to provide a forum for women in the financial sector to network with one another and participate in training events. At the end of 2007, the FWA reported total assets of USD 1, 369, 124 [7].

The Lenore C. Albom Microfinance Initiative was established under the FWA in 2006 as an annual opportunity to make individual contributions in support of microfinance organizations [2]. The FWA’s microfinance initiative supports the executive leadership training of women in developing countries who work for microfinance organizations. For more information on FWA’s microfinance initiatives, please visit: http://www.fwa.org/pdf/FWA%202008%20Annual%20Report_forweb.pdf.

Location Information:

Specific information regarding the location of the workshop has not yet been disclosed.

By: Diya Chopra, Research Associate

Bibliography:

[1] Women’s World Banking

http://www.swwb.org/files/pubs/en/2008_annual_report.pdf

[2] Financial Women’s Association

http://connections.fwa.org/e_article001446533.cfm?x=b11,0,w

[3] Microfinance Focus

http://www.microfinancefocus.com/news/2009/09/22/wwb-center-to-hold-its-first-workshop-in-bangalore/

[4] Women’s World Banking

http://www.swwb.org/mission-vision