Under this Initiative, we have already supported 150 micro-lending programs in over 40 countries, effecting some 20 million people. We have also developed strong, effective micro-enterprise strategies in nearly every country in which we operate in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. In particular, we have sought to expand access to sustainable financing for the poor and for low income women. We continue to work to honor this commitment. More than two-thirds of the loan clients were women.
Women now constitute over thirty three percent of the global work force.
However, their participation is highest in small and microenterprise and in the informal sector. In fact, in some developing countries, women are the majority of microenterprise owners, and the majority of women are engaged in microenterprise activities. Women's earnings are also critical to their families. For instance, nearly forty percent of households surveyed in a study conducted in Egypt were dependent on women's income for survival. In Asia and the Near East, a decline in real wages has increased the importance of women's income.