169Prestaciones sociales

The control of resources within the MFI may either create constraints to gender mainstreaming or support such an approach. For example, a budget may need to be allocated for eliciting views of both women and men stakeholders prior to the introduction of a MFI programme. Different donors will have different approaches to gender mainstreaming, and hence depending on the MFIs source of funds, the weight given to gender mainstreaming is likely to vary. Later when a MFI programme has been accepted and implemented, donors often advocate constant monitoring and evaluation at client and MFI level. However if MFIs are to be sustainable they do not have the time to carry out detailed monitoring and evaluation themselves. They generally do not have the expertise either for such assessments. Impact studies should be funded and organised by donors. Coordination between donors on methodologies for impact assessment of MFI activities is required.

However, if or when information on gender roles and the ‘gendered’ impact of such programmes is available, MFIs need to have the resources available to adapt their services to such circumstances. MFIs must be dynamic because they exist within and have to react to an environment that is constantly changing internally and externally. A ‘learning organisation’ seeks to understand those dynamics in order to maximize progress toward goals and objectives (Norem 2000). For example changing gender roles in business transactions will imply that MFIs have to also change their way of implementing their activities to different groups. A learning organisation requires resources to develop and train its board, staff, and stakeholders.

Human resources of any organisation are its’ most valuable asset. Human resource management

includes creating a work environment that meets people’s needs so that they can be as productive as possible. The best people available should be recruited and hired. If investment in training for staff has been realised, staff are a very expensive resource to lose. The assessment system should tangibly reward people and help to keep them in the organisation with opportunities for ongoing learning, career development and advancement (Norem, 2000). On the one hand, employees of microfinance institutions are often expected to pursue conventional profit-oriented aims when dealing with the majority of their clients. On the other hand the same staff are expected to adopt a different attitude when dealing with poverty-alleviation projects, without any differential internal incentives to reward achievements in dealing with or lending to the poor (Kabeer, 1995). It is clear that a different attitude and approach is required when dealing with poorer clients. Appendix A4.4 lists issues and statements that can be used to determine staff attitudes to socio-economic and gender issues.

An efficient gender- sensitive Management Information System (MIS) is a useful resource for an MFI. The nature and type of MIS vary between programmes, with some programmes having very limited information, others have comprehensive computerised information on financial performance and others special impact and evaluation procedures. Relevant information can be collected relatively easily and cheaply through rewording of loan applications forms, data collection for loan monitoring and programme exit forms and /or addition of specific questions based on the criteria and indicators identified. Gender sensitive MIS systems can be developed. This would enable statistical information on clients disaggregated by sex (or other variables) to be collected on an ongoing basis. Furthermore, as there is now increasing experience of integrating poverty impact assessment into programme monitoring, it should prove relatively easy to conduct gender analysis of financial data (Mayoux, 1999). However as mentioned above, to maintain financial sustainability impact assessment and studies should ideally not be carried out by the MFI itself, but delegated to those who specialise in socio-economic and gender impact assessment.

Background information as a resource: Both qualitative information and quantitative variables on

socio-economic factors in the MFI catchment area is a very useful resource for MFIs. Some categories of information are critical for understanding gender-linked differences and differences due to age, ethnicity, socio-economic status, place of residence, region and educational level of potential clients.

Caution is necessary because collecting and analysing information is expensive, and it can be time consuming to wade through large amounts of information.

MFIs will typically collect the same types of information regarding clients that larger commercial banks do. This entails the collection of market information on clients that segments client groups by factors such as geography, demography, business size, income, debt capacity, financing need and behavioural attributes. A wider range of indicators can be used to further dissagregate poorer or marginalized groups involved in food and agriculture, including:

Type and size of landholding Sex

Nutritional status Disability Household size

The first step is for the MFI to define what information they are lacking and why? Is it already available? Can they easily gain access to such information? How can information on clients and markets be systematically integrated in the MFI? How will client information be kept confidential and who will have access to such information on clients? In order to categorise which types of information might be useful, Appendix A4.5 provides a checklist of information categories and why such information in each category would be useful (adapted from Norem, 2000).