Diagnosing Gender Norms in the Financial Market System: A Practical Guide

Understanding the gender norms that constrain women’s financial inclusion (WFI) is an important first step for development actors seeking to address root causes rather than symptoms.  

This Technical Guide introduces a structured methodology for conducting diagnostic gender norms within the financial market system following an adaptive research approach that recognizes the complexity and interconnectedness of gender norms and market actor behavior.

Refined through real-world application across four diverse markets—Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, the guide offers practitioners a powerful set of tools for examining norms-driven constraints and identifying high impact intervention points. The gender norms market system diagnostic helps development actors to identify which norms are most prevalent and strong in a specific context and how they affect the behavior of women, financial service providers (FSPs), supporting function providers and rule makers that constrain WFI.  

By applying this methodology, development actors can unlock invisible barriers, identify opportunities for change where norms are shifting and spark a meaningful dialogue with market actors to build a more inclusive and equitable financial system.