NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

NEW YORK, Sept. 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Governments and agencies around the world are increasingly prioritizing full financial inclusion of women, but moving the needle is impossible without data on how many women actually have access to financial services and through what channels. The Global Banking Alliance for Women (GBA), in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Data2X, today is releasing a draft report for public comment [http://gbaforwomen.org/download/draft-report-measuring-womens-financial-inclusion/], based on interviews with over 50 regulators, policymakers, International Finance Institutions (IFIs) and bankers from around the world that reveals just how this data could inform better policies and prompt the private sector to take on this missed market opportunity.

"Measuring Women's Financial Inclusion: The Value of Sex-Disaggregated Data [http://gbaforwomen.org/download/draft-report-measuring-womens-financial-inclusion/]" is the outcome of a 2014 commitment [http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-banking-alliance-for-women-announces-partnership-to-close-gender-data-gap-in-finance-300009561.html] the GBA and IDB made to Data2X, an initiative of the UN Foundation founded by Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2012. The document not only makes the case for data, but also shares many of the challenges to its collection and use, from lack of awareness of its need to inadequate Management Information Systems in banks and regulatory constraints in many markets that make it more difficult for banks to collect sex-disaggregated data – and thus prove the business case internally for serving women.

Creating a gender-inclusive society in all areas, from access to financial services and education to health outcomes, requires that we have the data to measure the gender gaps.

"Data not only measures progress, it inspires it," Secretary Clinton said at the Data2X event. "We believe that if more and better data gets collected, we'll see more progress in tackling these kinds of problems."

The draft report will be launched at the GBA's Annual Summit [http://gbaforwomen.org/what-we-do/peer-learning/summit/] taking place in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sept. 29 – Oct. 1 and hosted by GBA member Itau Unibanco. The event is the only banking conference that focuses exclusively on how financial institutions can tap the power of the Women's Market.

About the GBA

The GBA is a consortium of financial institutions driving women's wealth creation. Our members work in more than 135 countries to build programs that empower women with the tools they need to succeed. Through the GBA's unique peer learning platform, members in turn gain the resources they need to serve their women customers well. Visit gbaforwomen.org [http://gbaforwomen.org/] for more information.