Pro Mujer: Microfinance Making a Big Difference

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Pro Mujer: Microfinance Making a Big Difference Pro Mujer is a ground breaking nongovernmental, microfinance organization that works to reverse the strong gender and socio-economic stratification in several Latin American countries as well as to empower women and break the cycle of poverty many of them are trapped in. For the past five centuries global processes have marginalized the women of poor Latin American counties leaving them with limited access to healthcare, financial services, or economic opportunities. Pro Mujer focuses on giving its members access to affordable subsidized health care, which includes reproductive education, loans for small businesses, and business education classes. Currently, Pro Mujer operates in Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru to reverse the economic, cultural, and political factors that contribute to women’s subordination. Globalization has played a key part in integrating Pro Mujer in to Latin American countries. International committees and human rights conventions such as the UN declaration of Human Rights, the International Civil and Political Rights Convention, and the International Social and Economic Rights Convention have made it possible for women’s organizations to put their issues on the political agenda. In fact, the Beijing Markert 2 Platform of Action states “national machineries for the advancement of women are key to the coordination of government policies. Their principle task is to support the incorporation of the concept of equality between men and women in to all spheres of policy and at all levels of government” (Jaquette). Globalization has played a strong role in making policy changes. In Argentina, Pro Mujer currently serves women living in the northern provinces of Salta, Jujuy and Tucuman, and plans to expand to the province of Santiago del Estero. Argentina’s ratification of the
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