{"id":49610,"date":"2018-08-06T13:10:28","date_gmt":"2018-08-06T17:10:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging24.finca.org\/uncategorized-en-gb\/mobile-money-gender-gap-in-financial-inclusion"},"modified":"2024-11-04T02:27:32","modified_gmt":"2024-11-04T07:27:32","slug":"mobile-money-gender-gap-in-financial-inclusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finca.org\/en-gb\/mobile-money-gender-gap-in-financial-inclusion","title":{"rendered":"A Shifting Frontier: How Mobile Money is Reshaping the Gender Gap in Financial Inclusion"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article was originally published on\u00a0NextBillion<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: This is the second part in a four-part series on what the World Bank\u2019s Global Findex reveals about the state of financial inclusion in 2017 and the challenges ahead as many strive for a fully inclusive world. Read the first post in the series: Don\u2019t Throw the Banks Out with the Bathwater: Why the 2017 Findex Shows Opportunity for Microfinance Institutions<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Discriminatory policies and cultural norms around property rights, unfair treatment in the job market and an enormous burden of unpaid work are just a few of the disadvantages that make it harder for women to achieve equality with men. On top of these challenges, women are more likely than men to be shut out from financial services, which can be damaging for the hundreds of millions of women with little disposable income. Many organizations supporting microfinance, including FINCA International where I lead Customer Research and Field Data Services, are dedicated to addressing this gender gap by finding more efficient ways of reaching women and delivering financial tools that can improve their lives.<\/p>\n

Using Findex Data to Dive Deeper into Women\u2019s Financial Inclusion<\/h2>\n

With the recent release of the World Bank\u2019s 2017 Global Findex<\/a>, we are offered a fresh look at women\u2019s financial inclusion. Can financial technologies (\u201cfintech\u201d) help women break the cycle of poverty and financial exclusion? Innovations like mobile money and agency banking promise to dramatically lower transaction costs, while making it possible to extend services far beyond the reach of a traditional bank branch. But is that really happening? Also, how are fintech innovations changing the way women interact with banking services and are these changes narrowing the gender gap in financial inclusion\u2014or making it worse?<\/p>\n

Sizing Up the Gender Gap in Financial Inclusion<\/h2>\n

According to the most recent survey results, women\u2019s financial exclusion is a global phenomenon. Men with access to a bank account (through financial institutions and\/or mobile money services) outnumber women by about 200 million. Inequality is somewhat worse in the developing world<\/a>, where 67 percent of men have access to an account, versus 59 percent of women.<\/p>\n

Percentage of Adults Who Own an Account
\n<\/strong>(Includes Financial Institution and Mobile Money Accounts)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Graph