Case studies: what’s new

Financial literacy uplift

According to a 2021 study of domestic and family violence against women by Brazil’s Federal Senate, financial reliance on a partner is one of the reasons why 46% of Brazilian women who suffer domestic violence do not report it to the police. Elsewhere, Argentina has the largest gender gap in financial education in Latin America (source: Mujer Financiera). Aiming to fix this are local initiatives offering financial education for women. At the end of 2021, The Government of the City of Buenos Aires launched a free finance course for women and the LGBTQ+ community, providing training opportunities to alleviate inequalities. Focused on support for Black women in particular, especially those in low-income, informal or self-employed roles, Grana Preta is a project that teaches financial awareness to foster independence and boost confidence.

Life-long development

With men historically leading the business environment in Latin America, women are now stepping up to create systems that place the needs and development of the women workforce front and centre. Brazilian femtech company Theia, founded by Paula Crespi and Flavia Deutsch Gotfryd, helps to ensure women and their employers can better balance pregnancies with professional life. In Mexico, Mujeres en Finanzas (MEF) is creating gender equity in the country’s finance sector through the pillars of networking, resources and tools that close the gender gap and increase awareness of women in the industry. Founded by 16 professional women, its ambition is to increase women in positions of leadership through career development programmes.

‘Knowing one’s own history and one’s potential is liberating. Knowing that all the power we seek is within us – and that we can be anything we want – is transformative’