Building Women’s Financial Capability: A Path Toward Transformation

A woman’s ability to meaningfully engage with financial services largely hinges on her financial capability. With lower levels of education, limited exposure to and trust of financial institutions, and systems that are not designed with women’s needs in mind, it is essential for women to possess the skills to manage their money, for themselves and their family

This publication examines how best to share information, build financial capability and enable lasting behavior change in a context in which women may have limited say in their own economic choices or require additional support or flexibility to overcome trust and care responsibilities. The paper examines the characteristics and success of existing approaches to building women’s financial capability and finds a gap in programming that sufficiently accounts for women’s preferences, which are largely influenced by gendered social norms.