This study critically analyses the potential for womens empowerment within mixed (mens and womens) savings and credit cooperatives (SCCs) in Nepal. The research concludes that mixed SCCs have minimal potential to empower women given their current policies. Overall, the findings suggest that women have less power than men in mixed SM and that gender power relations existing in the majority of the case-study homes are replicated in mixed finance cooperatives. Women have inequitable access to most SCC services and opportunities to become SCC leaders. Men members and Board leaders will support womens empowerment only if: it will provide family benefits which will not tax the households labour and financial resources; improve the SCCs growth; and not increase womens control over the cooperative.This study recommends organisational change at SM affecting the personal, institutional and methodological levels in order to create sustainable initiatives in gender equity and promote womens empowerment.