Stop Talking and Start Listening: Women Respond in Crisis

CARE Savings Group Program Coordinator, Kalkidan Lakew Yihun, on the importance of listening to women
Mar 7, 2024 9:00 AM ET
Mariama Ali, savings group president
Ms. Mariama Ali, president of the Niya da Kokari VLSA group. Tahoua-Niger. Image courtesy of Business Fights Poverty.

By Kalkidan Lakew Yihun

Originally published on Business Fights Poverty. 

There are few certainties in life, but one I have come to recognize, is that women in crisis will always take incredible action – whether there is outside intervention or not.

As we release the latest findings of our Women Respond survey – a major listening exercise with thousands of women in our Village Savings & Loan Associations (VSLAs) – another fact has become clear. Constantly listening to women is critical. And I don’t mean a baseline and an endline survey and a few check boxes along the way. We need to be constantly talking with women to create solutions with them that support their leadership and contribute to sustainable impact.

Read the full blog on Business Fights Poverty here.