Women's World Banking (WWB), one of the world's leaders in microenterprise financing, is a not-for-profit international financial institution founded by a global group of independent women working together with the support of the United Nations in 1979. The Women's World Banking mission is to facilitate the participation of poor women entrepreneurs in the modern economy at the local level, especially those who are generally without access to established financial institutions. The organization consists of an international network of affiliates (independent local institutions that provide a variety of financial and training services to meet the needs of local women) with a central coordinating office in New York City. WWB's records document the administration of the organization, mainly during the tenure of its first president, Michaela Walsh, and include founding documents, financial records, correspondence, records related to affiliates and other organizations, audiovisual materials, and the files of Michaela Walsh.