The Women's Development Bank in Venezuela: "Creating a Caring Economy"

The Women's Development Bank in Venezuela, abbreviated Banmujer, joins a long trend of micro-credit institutions intended to alleviate poverty by supporting small-scale entrepreneurs. What makes Banmujer unique is that it loans only to women; in fact, it is the only state-sponsored women's micro-credit bank in the world. Since its inception on March 8, 2001, Banmujer has been commended for its successes in helping women escape poverty and in instilling a new economic model of cooperation instead of competition. Over the past decade, the Venezuelan government has been remarkably supportive of women's rights. For example, the Bolivarian Constitution, adopted in 1999, uses non-sexist and gender-neutral language throughout. Instead of 'all men are created equal,' as is stated in the U.S. Constitution, Venezuela's constitution holds that 'all persons are equal before the law.'1 When discussing the role of the President, it says 'Presidente o Presidenta,' instead of using only the male form.