Women and the Microfinance Revolution (Half the Sky Chap. 11) #sjbc

Last updated on: April 18, 2013 at 7:29 pm by Chris Henrichsen

Women and the Microfinance Revolution (Half the Sky Chap. 11) #sjbc 2013-04-18T19:29:44-07:00 Chris Henrichsen

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

This post is part of the April Social Justice Book Club. This week we are discussing Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.

Conversation Questions for Chapter Eleven:

Sixty-five dollars …Consider the number and extent of lives changed by this one initial microloan to Saima?

Check out microloan resources mentioned in the book. Do you have a group of friends who could make small loans together? Maybe your Bunco group? Book Club? Sunday School class?

“Because men now typically control the purse strings, it appears that the poorest families in the world typically spend approximately ten times as much (20 percent of their income on average) on a combination of alcohol, prostitutes, candy, sugary drinks, and lavish feasts as they do on educating their children.” Pg. 192

The gender differences surrounding the utilization of resources appear to be quite significant. Can it really be as simple as reallocating funds to women? What cultural factors allow these men to spend income on, what we consider to be, frivolous, and immoral purchases? How do religious beliefs possibly support this lifestyle?

Could our communities, companies, and/or churches benefit from more women in leadership? If so, how? If not, why?

Source: The above questions come from the organization Global Women.

Please share with us your responses to the questions above or any thoughts or questions you have about women and microfinance in the comments section below.

The Social Justice Book Club is a project of Independence Rock Group: Center for Faith, Ethics, and Social Justice. Please consider supporting the Social Justice Book Club and our other projects. Find other posts about the Book Club and Half the Sky here.

Independence Rock Group

Social Justice

Social Justice Book Club

Previous Post

April 18, 2013

Investing in Education (Half the Sky Chap. 10) #sjbc

Next Post

April 19, 2013 The Axis of Equality (Half the Sky Chap. 12) #sjbc

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Adventures in Parenting Adventures in Sunday School American History American Political Thought American Politics American Religion Blog Admin Books Campaign Chronicles Culture Current Events Faith & Social Justice News Roundup General Conference Green Party Guest Post Guns HuffPost Live Hymns of Social Justice Independence Rock Group Las Vegas Marginalia Mormon Studies Mormonism Music Personal and Family Philosophy Political Philosophy Pop culture Queer Pioneer Week Quote of the Day Rawls Rawls and Religion Religion Social Justice Social Justice Book Club Sports Theology U.S Constitution Uncategorized Unions Video Wyoming

Select a Month February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who is called the "brother of the Lord" and wrote a New Testament letter?

Select your answer to see how you score.

James Titus John Bartholomew