Women face many barriers to economic empowerment and financial inclusion – and they are all connected to one another in some way.
Can we identify the barriers that are most relevant to women in different markets so that providers can focus programs and interventions on the most critical issues?
About the project
The goal of this work has been to examine a set of barriers inhibiting women's access to and usage of financial services, in order to determine which barriers are most relevant to different women in different markets, and arrive at recommendations about the kinds of interventions that can address them. Ultimately, our goal is to remove barriers to women's economic empowerment in the financial inclusion arena.
Want to know more? Download the project overview to see the research motivation, methodology, and high-level findings.
About the barriers
An evidence review of 36 barriers grouped into eight categories contributing to the gender gap in financial inclusion. Within each barrier-specific download you will find a summary of and key evidence on the barrier, analyses of connected barriers and the customer segments that the barrier is most relevant to, and exemplary interventions that have focused on overcoming the given barrier.
Prerequisites
Accessibility
Cost
Social Norms
Information Availability & Capability
Product & Service Quality
Human Resources
Consumer Protection
The general sentiment is that all of these barriers contribute to an inequitable financial system that makes it difficult for women to access and use financial services and products in ways that will allow them to achieve economic empowerment.
Connected Barriers Map
No barrier operates independently of others. Through this map, we can see the constellation of connections -- where larger nodes identify more connections, and possibly, opportunities for outsized impact.
Financial Inclusion Segments
Women are not a monolith -- different barriers affect different women in different ways. We categorize women into four segments, developed by Mathematica using Findex data. These segments reflect a woman's level of and potential for financial inclusion, and allow us to consider which barriers are most relevant to each segment. By examining the barriers that are most relevant to specific types of women in specific markets, we can take a contextualized approach to prioritizing interventions. On the Resources page, you can filter barriers, exemplars, and country data by segment.
01
Excluded, marginalized
Does not own a financial account and Has not conducted certain transactions in the past 12 months and either Does not have an income source (neither in the workforce nor have received a G2P payment) or Cannot access financial services (does not have a mobile phone, and financial institutions are too far away)
02
Excluded, high potential
Does not own a financial account and either Has conducted certain transactions in the past 12 months or Has an income source (from being in the workforce or receiving a G2P payment) and Can access financial services (does have a mobile phone and financial institutions are not too far away)
03
Included, underserved
Owns a financial account and Has not conducted more than one type of advanced transaction in the past 12 months
04
Included, not underserved
Owns a financial account and Has conducted more than one type of advanced transaction in the past 12 months
Want to know more? Download an overview of the financial inclusion segments to see how we define and identify different types of female customers in a given market
Customer Journey
The financial inclusion segments are closely related to the customer journey from access to empowerment.
Phase 1
Account Ownership
Customer enrolls and opens a DFS account. It's important to consider pre-account ownership where the customer is unaware of the account, or aware, but not interested enough to sign up.
Phase 2
Basic Account Usage
Customer has an account, but they are using it for basic transactions such as P2P.
Phase 3
Activate Account Usage
Customer begins to explore different use cases around the service and considers different ways to use the account.
Phase 4
Economic Empowerment
Customer begins using DFS services that meet a full breadth of her needs, and she is confidently and safely able to choose the services that are best for her.
