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Findings from earlier legitimacy based accounting studies provide evidence that firms respond to threats to their perceived legitimacy by increasing communication to the public. This communication is meant to demonstrate that their actions are commensurate with the values and norms of relevant stakeholder groups. Questions remain, however, as to whether it is merely a form of impression management or a reflection of the congruent activities of the firm. In the late 1990s, a unique situation arose in British Columbia’s coastal forestry industry that enabled us to examine this issue. For many years, this industry had been the target of environmental non‐government organisations’ (ENGOs) campaigns to influence change in forest management practices and conserve the coastal rainforests. In late 1999, a subset of the industry responded by forming a coalition with key ENGOs. The aim of the coalition was to develop a consensus package of recommendations for the Government of B. C. founded on eco‐system based forest management practices. Facing threats to their critical export markets, the firms viewed this initiative as their best chance for long‐term survival. We found that during this period of time there was an increase in the amount of environmental disclosure in coalition firm annual reports as compared to pre‐ and post‐coalition periods, as well as to that in a matched set of non‐coalition B.C. forestry firms. This finding provides evidence of the use of annual reports for social disclosure beyond their use as a vehicle for impression management.

Microcredit programs, which provide unsecured credit to individuals or groups, have often been viewed within the development field as a panacea for empowering women in developing countries and improving their families’ socioeconomic status. Some of these programs, such as the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, have made great strides toward improving the living conditions for the poorest of the poor. However, the beneficial outcomes of many of these programs to participants, and especially women, are often constrained by local cultural values/traditions and the imposition of masculine business models derived from the developed world's conceptualization of capitalism.

In this paper, we explore some of the root causes of the inability of many microcredit programs to deliver on their expected benefits, specifically to women borrowers in developing countries. We focus on universal shortcomings of microcredit programs that impede the success of all borrowers and on gender-specific shortcomings that negatively impact women borrowers. We highlight these shortcomings with the use of examples from our own experiences with microcredit programs in developing countries. Based on our critique, the final section of the paper presents five key recommendations for improving the structure and delivery of microcredit programs targeted at women in developing countries that recognize their unique needs and opportunities.

We are grateful for the privilege of editing this book and organizing the conference that it celebrates. We thank our universities, departments, and organizations for their generous support, the many people who helped organize the conference, and the reviewers acknowledged below. Most of all, we thank our presenters, participants, and authors for their interest and energy.

Since the late eighteenth century, American men have supported women's equality. (see Kimmel and Mosmiller, 1992). Even before the first Woman's Rights Convention at Seneca Falls, New York heralded the birth of the organized women's movement in 1848, American men had begun to argue in favor of women's rights. That celebrated radical, Thomas Paine, for example, mused in 1775 that any formal declaration of independence from England should include women, since women have, as he put it, “an equal right to virtue.”(Paine, [1775] 1992, 63–66). Other reformers, like Benjamin Rush and John Neal articulated claims for women's entry into schools and public life. Charles Brockden Brown, America's first professional novelist, penned a passionate plea for women's equality in Alcuin(1798).