of their income in their families and communities than men did – financing such items as health care, education for their children, and home improvement. The woman entrepreneur as the gateway to household and community stability became a fundamental basis for the microfinance business model and a guiding principle behind the value of microfinance as a tool for poverty alleviation. In view of the multiplier effect of empowering women, and in keeping with its founders’ intent, Women's World Banking has since its inception concentrated specifically on enhancing the opportunities and well-being of women through economic independence. Women's World Banking has conducted extensive gender research on household dynamics and the ways in which women's roles and responsibilities impact spending, saving and investment decisions in low-income families. These studies have provided visibility into women's complex challenges as entrepreneurs, wives, mothers, and community members within their particular cultural context. On the basis of these insights, Women's World Banking applies a particular gender lens in designing and delivering products and services to help network members deepen their impact on low-income women. For example, research findings have led to gender-responsive modifications such as: simplified loan paperwork and borrowing requirements, which take into account women's lower literacy rates in many countries; changes in the design of MFI branches to accommodate women with small children; and housing loans for which women must be placed on the property title for the household to receive the loan. Products and services As the microfinance field matures, clients are requiring a more diversified product offering beyond credit. Women's World Banking has addressed the evolving needs of low-income women with the design and delivery of new products and services, including: Savings products, helping the poor to build assets and achieve long-term goals, autonomy and financial security; especially geared to enable women – as the primary savers in the developing world – to plan for funding needs across their lifecycle. Microinsurance programs, providing predefined benefits to help women and their families better cope with unanticipated financial burdens associated with a medical emergency. Housing and Home-Improvement Loans, as home ownership implies possessing not just a valuable asset but also a means to generate rental income as a form of security, especially for women, who are more likely to be widowed or left without assets in a divorce. Individual Lending, to provide larger, more flexible loans to growth-oriented clients. Rural Finance, accounting for the particular