Insights from the latest MMEG Talks at the World Bank
“We cannot be serious about poverty reduction if we are not serious about inclusion. And when we think about inclusion, the key group to fully include in economic activities is female participation.”
— Jorge Familiar, Vice President and Treasurer, World Bank
According to the World Development Report on Gender, “Gender equality is not only the right thing to do from a moral point of view, but it also makes absolute sense from an economic point of view.”
At the latest MMEG Talks, held at the World Bank, this guiding principle set the tone for an inspiring conversation on Grassroots Poverty Reduction: The Impact of Women Leaders on the Ground.
Two remarkable MMEG grantees—Anamika Priyadarshini (India) and Monica Brenda Longwe (Malawi)—shared powerful reflections on the barriers women face and the unique strengths women leaders bring to the fight against poverty.
Unpaid, Invisible, and Undervalued — Yet Driving Change
For Anamika Priyadarshini, who works with Passing Gifts, a subsidiary of Heifer International, one of the most pervasive challenges is the non-recognition of women’s economic contributions.
“If you deny women’s economic contributions, you are denying their very existence,” Anamika stated.
Across Asia, women perform 70% of agricultural work, yet they are still rarely recognized as farmers. Add to this the burden of unpaid domestic and care work—women in India spend far more time on this than men—and it becomes clear how these invisible contributions limit women’s opportunities for education, training, and paid employment. Social norms also restrict women’s access to resources and keep them trapped in cycles of poverty.
Anamika’s commitment to dignity, respect, and non-judgmental approaches was shaped early on by her mother’s example as a community social worker. Later, her MMEG grant allowed her to return to India to conduct archival research on 19th-century home-based women workers in Bihar for her PhD, deepening her understanding of the historical roots of gendered labor.
“MMEG enabled me to stay true to my passion, to gather the insights I needed, and to turn my research into actionable change.”
The Missing Link: Mental Health and Poverty
For Monica Brenda Longwe, now a social and behavior change communication specialist with South Africa’s National Department of Health TB Control Program, a significant missing link in poverty frameworks is mental health.
“Poverty and mental health are two sides of the same coin. One begets the other.” Monica stated.
Monica spoke candidly about her personal journey. During her master’s studies, a donor withdrew funding, and her life was further upended by an abusive marriage. Later diagnosed with depression and anxiety, she was hospitalized. These experiences revealed to her just how deeply mental health struggles and poverty reinforce each other, especially for women.
Out of this journey, she co-founded The Fight Club Initiative (FCI), a women-led empowerment collective in South Africa and Malawi that supports survivors of gender-based violence and emotional abuse, with a focus on mental well-being, economic independence, and legal protection.
Building Better Models for Poverty Reduction
Both panelists stressed the need to move beyond data and design policies that truly work for women.
“We have tons of policies. But are they effective? Are they scalable? Are they centered on women’s realities?” Anamika said.
She also emphasized the importance of investing in social capital, and in care and child care support to make work accessible to women.
Monica called for specific interventions for women in Malawi, ones that acknowledge the unique burdens and challenges women face.
“From girlhood, women should know what love looks like—and what it does not.”
Leadership at Every Level
Marion Subah, MMEG’s very first grantee, reminded the audience that leadership is needed both at the grassroots and in ministries and institutions to make poverty reduction strategies more inclusive and effective.
What’s Next? Join the Conversation
The MMEG Talks made one thing clear: poverty reduction must be gender-aware, inclusive, and holistic. Mental health, recognition of unpaid work, social capital, and policy accountability are essential to unlocking the leadership potential of women on the ground.
Watch the MMEG TALKS here:
