In this FinEquity Member Spotlight, Reham Gharbiyeh talks about making women's economic empowerment in the MENA region possible.

FinEquity's June 2020 Newsletter As virtual engagement becomes the new normal, FinEquity's facilitation and engagement platforms play a vital role in ensuring our community's continued learning, knowledge exchange, collaboration, and impact. Sign-up for our mailing list to receive the monthly FinEquity Newsletter directly in your inbox.

Brett MattThews is the founder and executive director of My Oral Village. In this FinEquity Member Spotlight Interview Brett tells us about "oral information management" (OIM) and the naïve assumption that voice is a ‘magic bullet’.

Women are less likely than men to have access to emergency funds. Access to financial services — formal or informal — is crucial for addressing adverse situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic in LAC.

Grace Majara Kibombo is a Senior Technical Advisor for CARE USA based in Kampala, Uganda. In this FinEquity Member Spotlight Interview, Grace tells us about the work CARE does to support women's financial inclusion, the value and impact of Savings Groups in Uganda, and how CARE was able to provide critical guidance to COVID-19 in record time.

Based on the evidence thus far, the global pandemic has the potential to deal a one-two punch: a major global health crisis and a global economic crisis that will persist well after the slowing down of the immediate health emergency. While these shocks affect everyone, women - who comprise 1.5 billion of the world’s low-wage workers and twice as many of its carers - may be particularly vulnerable to the economic and health crises that unfold in the wake of COVID-19.

The FinEquity Member survey is conducted annually to assess member needs and get a qualitative sense of our impact. The survey is advertised via the FinEquity Newsletter, social media channels, and DGroups, as well as individualized outreach to members who have close contact with facilitators and Working Group leads.

The Arab Barometer is a nonpartisan research network, hosted at Princeton University, which provides insight into the social, political, and economic attitudes and values of people across the Arab world. They have been conducting high-quality public opinion surveys since 2006 and make the data publicly available (free of charge) on their website.

Crowd-sourced materials on the issue of women's financial resiliency as it relates to COVID-19 or other serious crises. To suggest items please send to FinEquity@cgap.org. Last updated on August 25, 2020. https://www.cgap.org/blog/women-rural-and-agricultural-livelihoods-facing-covid-19

Opening a bank account in many countries is a cumbersome process requiring official documents that women often don't have. Digital ID systems can make this process more accessible and help enable women’s financial inclusion.