Women Fail to Gain Much Ground on Financial Inclusion
Friday, June 1, 2018
Even as the number of adults worldwide who have bank accounts continues to swell, the latest World Bank Global Findex report shows the gap between men and women remains just as wide as when it was first measured seven years ago.
While there have been some advances in helping women gain access to financial services, globally, 65% of women have an account compared with 72% of men. The gender gap is similar in developing economies, with 67% of men and 59% of women having an account. There is no discernable gender gap in high-income economies.
The picture is not entirely bleak in developing economies. Consider India, where a strong government push to increase account ownership through biometric identification cards helped narrow both the gender gap and the gap between richer and poorer adults. And several developing economies have no significant gender gap, including Argentina, Indonesia and South Africa.
Photo courtesy of Simone McCourtie.
Source: The Financial (link opens in a new window)
- Categories
- Finance
