Women and Financial Inclusion

Abstract

The Global Findex Database 2021 shows that the gap in access to financial services between men and women dropped to 4 percentage points for the first time in the past decade. Worldwide, 78 percent of men now have an account, compared to 74 percent of women. In developing economies, the gap is somewhat larger at 6 percentage points (74 percent of men with an account compared to 68 percent of women). Despite this general trend toward narrowing gender gaps in developing economies, however, barriers such as a lack of identification or a mobile phone, distance from a bank branch, and low financial capability continue to hamper women’s ability to participate in the formal financial system. These barriers may contribute as well to the fact that women report low levels of financial resilience—meaning, they are unable to easily come up with money to deal with an emergency within 30 days. Programs aimed at expanding financial inclusion through the digitalization of cash payments can help increase both financial access and use in a way that improves women’s lives.