Gender diversity within the workforce in the microfinance industry in Africa: Economic performance and sustainability

• Author: Darline Augustine,Christopher O. Wheat,Monica Baraldi,Charles A. Malgwi,Kisha S. Jones
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/cjas.1365
• Date: 01 September 2016
• Published date: 01 September 2016

Gender diversity within the workforce in the

microfinance industry in Africa: Economic

performance and sustainability

Darline Augustine*

University of Stellenbosch Business School

Christopher O. Wheat

Rutgers University Business School

Kisha S. Jones

Pennsylvania State University

Monica Baraldi

University of Bologna

Charles A. Malgwi

Bentley University

Abstract

This study examines the relationship of gender diversity

within the workforce and the sustainability of economic

performance within the microf‌inance industry in Africa as

compared to the rest of the world. Measuring economic

performance helps to demonstrate whether resources are

effectively utilized to achieve social performance objectives.

We use ROA—the most common measure of prof‌it for f‌inan-

cial institutions—to capture f‌inancial performance, and

OpEx—the most widely used in dicator of eff‌iciency—to cap-

ture operating eff‌iciency. We measure gender diversity within

the microf‌inance workforce at two hierarchical levels. Our

analysis of a data set of 1,389 observations in 1,053 f‌irms sug-

gests that gender diversity enhances economic performance,

especially in Africa. We propose that policymakers and

practitioners consider these results to determine how to best

deploy women within the microf‌inance workforce to deliver

sustainable economic performance. Copyright © 2016

ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Keywords: gender diversity, economic performance,

sustainability

Résumé

Cette étude examine la relation entre la diversité des sexes

au sein du personnel et la durabilité de la performance

économique dans l’industrie de la microf‌inance en Afrique,

par comparaison au reste du monde. La mesure de la

performance économique permet de démontrer que les

ressources sont eff‌icacement utilisées pour atteindre les

objectifs de la performance sociale. La ROA—la mesure

la plus courante permettant d’évaluer le prof‌it des institu-

tions f‌inancières —est utilisée pour cerner la performance

f‌inancière et l’OpEx—l’indicateur d’eff‌icacité la plus

répandue —est utilisée pour déterminer l’eff‌icacité

opérationnelle. L’étude montre que la mesure de la

diversité des genres au sein du personnel de la

microf‌inance s’opère à deux niveaux hiérarchiques.

L’analyse de 1389 observations provenant de 1053 f‌irmes

indique que la diversité des genres améliore la performance

économique, notamment en Afrique. L’article propose aux

décideurs et aux gestionnaires de s’inspirer de nos résultats

pour mieux déployer la gent féminin dans le personnel des

microf‌inancesaf‌ind’atteindre des performanceséconomiques

durables. Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley

& Sons, Ltd.

Mots-clés : diversité des genres, performance économique,

durabilité

Introduced in the late twentieth century, modern

microf‌inance or f‌inancial products and services designed

for households and f‌irms at the base of the economic pyra-

mid are an innovative intervention to provide access for

the underbanked and unbanked to mainstream f‌inancial

products and services. Microf‌inance has become an impor-

tant tool within the inclusive sustainable development

agenda of inclusive f‌inance or access to f‌inance for all. The

*Please address correspondence to: Darline Augustine, University of

Stellenbosch Business School. Email: darlineaugustine@hotmail.com

Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences

Revue canadienne des sciences de l’administration

33: 227–241 (2016)

Published online 21 January 2016 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/CJAS.1365

Can J Adm Sci

33(3), 227–241 (2016)Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 227