On Our Radar: May 2024

Financial Service Providers are are faced with a myriad of challenges in implementing reliable gender reporting and leveraging it for business opportunities. This article by Horus Development Finance proposes a pragmatic approach with practical use cases, and best practices for collecting, analyzing and using gender-disaggregated data to accelerate women's financial inclusion.

Improving the gender-responsiveness of design and delivery of rural finance interventions through innovative approaches and mechanisms is important for promoting rural women’s economic empowerment. This Technical Guidance Note developed by FAO, is designed to be a practical resource for practitioners who are engaging at country level to help advance rural women's financial inclusion. It offers a step-by-step approach to analyzing the state of gender equality within a specific country or context, with the purpose of diagnosing potential entry points for interventions that aim to increase rural women’s financial inclusion. 

Policymakers and regulators play a pivotal role in cultivating an environment conducive to offering inclusive financial solutions tailored to women’s needs. This Policy Brief by Women’s World Banking (WWB) focuses on the efforts policymakers, regulators, and financial service providers can make to foster inclusive design practices to create an inclusive financial ecosystem; one that caters to the diverse needs of women, and fosters economic growth and empowerment on a global scale. It includes illustrative case studies from Cambodia and India showcasing successful initiatives employing women-centric product design principles, resulting in increased engagement and usage of financial products among women

Policymakers play a crucial role in strengthening consumer protection laws, promoting gender-sensitive product design, and monitoring discriminatory practices through gender-disaggregated data analysis. This Policy Brief by Women’s World Banking (WWB) present a clear business case for gender intentional consumer protection based on evidence from Cambodia.

The Costa Rica women’s financial inclusion story is a positive one. They've built a strong foundation, resulting in almost equal ownership of financial accounts between men and women. This case study explores the steps being taken in Costa Rica to increase women's financial inclusion.