This paper presents findings from a study of Grameen Bank and the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), two programs that provide credit to poor rural women in Bangladesh. The programs were found to have significant effects on eight different dimensions of women's empowerment. The authors use a combination of sample survey and case study data to argue that the success of Grameen Bank, is particular, in empowering women is due both to its strong, central focus on credit, and its skillful use of rules and rituals to make the loan program function.