Based on the evidence thus far, the global pandemic has the potential to deal a one-two punch: a major global health crisis and a global economic crisis that will persist well after the slowing down of the immediate health emergency. While these shocks affect everyone, women - who comprise 1.5 billion of the world’s low-wage workers and twice as many of its carers - may be particularly vulnerable to the economic and health crises that unfold in the wake of COVID-19.

Crowd-sourced materials on the issue of women's financial resiliency as it relates to COVID-19 or other serious crises. We invite all readers to share materials they believe are of interest to the FinEquity community via Dgroups or by sending to [email protected] and we will update the list regularly.

The FinEquity Member survey is conducted annually to assess member needs and get a qualitative sense of our impact. The survey is advertised via the FinEquity Newsletter, social media channels, and DGroups, as well as individualized outreach to members who have close contact with facilitators and Working Group leads.

The Arab Barometer is a nonpartisan research network, hosted at Princeton University, which provides insight into the social, political, and economic attitudes and values of people across the Arab world. They have been conducting high-quality public opinion surveys since 2006 and make the data publicly available (free of charge) on their website.

Opening a bank account in many countries is a cumbersome process requiring official documents that women often don't have. Digital ID systems can make this process more accessible and help enable women’s financial inclusion. 

Greta Bull, CEO of CGAP, sat down with FinEquity ahead of International Women's Day to review ways to accelerate progress in women’s financial inclusion and why it matters for improving opportunities and resilience of the poor. CGAP's role as convener of the gender community of practice illustrates its commitment to women's financial inclusion and collective problem solving.

What National Financial Inclusion Strategies have accomplished so far in the region, and what more needs to be done

To pick up the pace of change, we need more pragmatic actions from all stakeholders. This blog post shares key takeaways from two recent events by FinEquity and Women's World Banking.

To realize the potential gains of financial inclusion, more intentional efforts are needed to close persistent gender gaps. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has developed three core principles for advancing women’s financial inclusion and economic empowerment.

How do social norms shape women’s behavior and how do they impact economic outcomes? Take this quiz to test your knowledge about the link between social norms and women’s financial inclusion.