In its most recent analysis of figures, the financial cooperative Confiar said that in contrast to the market, the female social base of the entity has a lower participation in the placement of microcredit. However, the average amounts she receives are twice as high as the amounts given to women in general.
The financial system disburses men average microcredit amounts of $6,100,000; In the case of women, average microcredit disbursements barely reach $4,800,000, which marks a gender gap of 21.3%. In Confiar, women have access to average disbursements of $10,100,000, while men obtain disbursements of $11,400,000, which reduces the gender gap within the cooperative to 10.9%.
Regarding consumer credit, the women of Confiar participate in the disbursements in a proportion similar to that of the female population in the market – slightly lower than the male population. Additionally, the average amounts they access are comparatively higher than those received by women in general.
The market disburses men average amounts of consumer credit worth $1,100,000, while it assigns average disbursements to women of $900,000. At Confiar, the average amount disbursed to men is $2,000,000, while women assume obligations for an average value of $1,700,000. According to these figures, the gender gap in the market reaches 18.2% and is reduced to 16.5% in Confiar.
Despite the cooperative’s efforts to encourage the financial inclusion of women in its various lines of credit, structural situations such as lower income and stereotypes associated with home care are some of the reasons that explain this financial behavior.
“The difference in income between men and women of the cooperative reaches 19.9%. For this reason, when estimating the amount of disbursements, financial institutions give women comparatively lower values; that is, lower income and the wage gap, which in the country is approximately 13%, have a direct impact on the amounts to be lent. On the other hand, there are also the stereotypes that associate them with home and care, which leaves a general imprint on their behavior that makes them meticulous and conservative with expenses.”, explained Jenny Giraldo García, director of Mujeres Confiar.
It is important to note that this situation corresponds to a trend reported in consulted sources: compared to men, women have less access to formal credit and make greater use of informal credit and credit in stores, which constitutes an alternative behavior before the limitations that the financial system may impose on them on behalf of their minor ceconomic capacity.
Confiar serves 202,809 women in 6 departments, which is equivalent to 55.7% of its social base. When analyzing the behavior of these women based on their work activity, it is evident that:
– Independent women They have a diversified portfolio, which not only enhances their ventures, but also feeds the fulfillment of purposes such as buying a home.
– Housewives and pensioners they present a high concentration of their obligations in the consumption line. At the same time, domestic workers have comparatively high percentages of mortgage obligations, highlighting their special motivation for home ownership.
– In terms of savings, The fact that the women of the cooperative have a participation of more than 60% in the total of products such as programmed savings, CDT and special savings for housing is highlighted. This allows us to infer their interest in saving in the medium or long term depending on their purposes.
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