Essay 3:
Jo Rowlands text on how empowerment is examined was a very interesting read. She
starts off by stating how most people see power to appear as a neutral thing, but that is not the
case, realistically. Power is actually distributed in a very different way within society. She goes
on to state, “there is no consideration of the power dynamics of gender, or of race, class, or any
other force of oppression,” (Lewis, 2014) p. 101). Rowland states that conventional power
generally means obedience, in other words, ‘power-over.’ She states that in a gender analysis,
‘power-over’ is generally predominantly wielded by men over other men, men over women, etc.
The term ‘power to’ refers to a more empowerment meaning that is achieved by “increasing
one’s ability to resist and challenge ‘power-over,’” according to Liz Kelly (1992). `Power to’ also
can be described as ‘power from within’. “The definition of power in terms of domination and
obedience contrasts with one which views it as generative terms: for instance, 'the power some
people have of stimulating activity in others and raising their morale,” (Lewis, 2014 p. 102).
Microloans usually provide financial services that target customers in poverty. They work
through a small microfinance organization that helps give out loans. Evidence shows that when
women have control of microloans, due to them spending more on the health, security, and
welfare of their families, (Karnani, 2007, p. 36). According to the text, “women have longer
vision [and] want to change their lives much more intensively,” (Karnani, 2007 p. 36). There is a
huge selling point of microfinance and its “alleged ability to empower women,” (Karnani, 2007
p. 36). Research demonstrates that microcredit increases women’s bargaining power within the
home, centrality to the community, awareness of social and political issues, and mobility. It also
increases their self-esteem and self-worth.
There has been other research to show the failures of microcredit. These are that
microloans are more beneficial to borrowers living above the poverty line instead of borrowers
living under the poverty line. The reason why is because when clients have more income, they
are willing to take investment risks, which will ultimately increase their income flows. The
people under the poverty line do not have enough income to risk spending it on such things.
Another problem with microcredit is that some business entrepreneurs do not have specialized
skills, so they must compete with poor people within the entry level trades. Some benefits of the
microfinance ideas are that they open doors for employment. The text states that “employment is
a key link between economic growth and poverty reduction. Productive and remunerative
employment can help ensure that poor people share in the benefits of economic growth,”
(Karnani, 2007 p. 38).
References:
Karnani, A. (2007). Microfinance Misses its Mark. Stanford Social Innovation Review:
Informing and Inspiring Leaders of Social Change. Retrieved from
https://ssir.org/articles/entry/microfinance_misses_its_mark.
Lewis, D. (2014). Non-governmental organizations, management and development.
Routledge. Retrieved from https://www.chegg.com/reader/9781135070380/0/.
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