Closing the Gender Gap in Financial Inclusion through Fintech

Abstract

According to 2017 data from the Global Findex Database published by the World Bank, women are still less likely than men to own an account at financial institutions (Demirgüç-Kunt et al. 2018). In Asia and the Pacific, this is particularly true for Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, where the gap between the percentage of men and women owning an account is almost 30%. In other subregions, the results seem to vary. Countries in the Southeast Asia and Central Asia subregions show interesting outcomes—data from the Philippines, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Indonesia, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia show that women are more likely to have accounts than men. In Viet Nam, Thailand, and the Kyrgyz Republic, the gaps seem relatively smaller compared to other countries. In 2017, compared to 2014, the percentage of women owning an account in Asia and the Pacific increased. Notable increases in countries such as Tajikistan, Sri Lanka, India, and Indonesia have contributed to reducing the gap between men and women. Increases in the percentage of women owning accounts in the Philippines, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia have closed the gap and even reversed it. Most countries have made considerable progress, except for a 2% decline in Viet Nam and a surprising 51% decline in the Lao PDR. While overall, more women are being financially included through having accounts at financial institutions, the gender gap persists. Given the complicated roles many women continue to play in their households, opening an account and managing their finances at a financial institution may not be a priority. Especially for women living in rural areas in developing economies, a number of barriers may hinder them from accessing services at financial institutions: the distance from the bank, having insufficient documents to open a bank account, family or work responsibilities, or the mindset and certain attitudes towards financial institutions (Murata and Sioson 2018).