The Working Women's Forum: organizing for credit and change.

Abstract

The Working Women's Forum (WWF), established in Madras in 1978, has brought together over 13,000 poor urban women around the issue of credit. Most women who live in the slums of Madras work as small-scale traders and vendors, their earnings often providing over half the family income. Interviews with these women revealed that their primary concern was increasing their earning capacity. The WWF was set up to enable these women to obtain low interest loans to expand their businesses. The key element in the WWF structure is the neighborhood loan group, comprised of 10-20 women from the same area who act as mutual guarantors for the loans of all group members. Over 7000 women have received loans and the repayment rate has been over 90%. About 2800 new jobs or businesses have been created, and earnings have increased an average of 50% in existing enterprises. Women report that they are eating better quality and more varied foods as a result of their increased income. The WWF is expanding its activities to address the political and social problems of working women as well. The Forum operates day care centers, skills training centers, and remedial classes for schoolchildren. In 1980 the WWF launched a family planning program in which field workers (who are drawn from the WWF membership and paid $18 per month) disseminate information on health, nutrition, and family planning to families in their communities. According to a staff member, this program was an outcome of the realization that "income generation and large families do not go together." The WWF also promotes intercaste, no dowry marriages and lobbies for public services. Women have become more confident of the possibility of gaining control over their lives, including their fertility. The WWF experience demonstrates that an organization does not need a lot of money, educated staff, or technical expertise to reach poor women. The Forum's success is attributed to its selection of one critical issue, utilization of local leadership, organization of women around existing neighborhood ties, and decentralized management.