Doc. 8893
21 November 2000

Women and micro-loans

Motion for a recommendation

presented by Mrs Dromberg and others

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only the members who have signed it

Recent studies show that women in Europe are at a disadvantage in their dealings with banking and financial institutions when it comes to investing for the purposes of starting or developing their own company.

This fact is regrettable given the high proportion of women among the unemployed.

Women should at least have access to micro-loans enabling them to set up SMEs. In most cases, however, their requests for such loans are refused.

Apart from the fact that women are not often well informed, the reasons for discrimination in the granting of bank loans mainly have to do with the obstacles inherent in a backward-looking mentality.

It is difficult for women to establish relations based on trust with their banks. Consequently, their projects are generally rejected.

The Assembly considers that the principle of equal opportunities for women and men to start their own company or invest needs to be applied in the banking sector.

The Assembly therefore recommends that the Committee of Ministers ask the steering committees and committees of experts concerned to conduct the necessary studies and to submit proposals with a view to ensuring that the criteria used by banks when allocating start-up loans are totally objective, thereby guaranteeing true equality of opportunities for women and men.

Signed : ¹

Dromberg, Finland, EDG

Aguiar, Portugal, EPP/CD

Calner, Sweden, SOC

Cryer, United Kingdom, SOC

Hadjidemetriou, Cyprus, SOC

Herczog, Hungary, SOC

Jones, United Kingdom, SOC

Katseli, Greece, SOC

Keltošová, Slovakia, EDG

Legendre, France, EDG

López González, Spain, SOC

Neuwirth, France, EDG

Popovski, “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, SOC

Pourtaud, France, SOC

Roudy, France, SOC

Taylor, United Kingdom, EPP/CD

¹        SOC: Socialist Group

      EPP/CD: Group of the European People’s Party

      EDG: European Democratic Group

      LDR : Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group

      UEL: Group of the Unified European Left

      NR: not registered in a group