The gender gap in financial inclusion continues to be unacceptably high in most developing countries, highlighting the need to prioritize policies that promote gender equity in the financial sector more effectively. The financial inclusion community has supported the gender data agenda since the early 2010s through several global initiatives and country level efforts. While these initiatives have contributed to a notable increase in the availability and use of gender-disaggregated data, especially on the demand side, significant gaps continue to exist in the generation and, especially, in the use of administrative (supply-side) data. This paper examines efforts, focusing on supply-side gender-disaggregated data (S-GDD) initiatives. It explores how S-GDD has been collected and used, mainly by financial sector authorities but also by providers, and the challenges and opportunities associated with this work. It highlights lessons to date, identifies existing gaps, and proposes next steps for future work to unlock S-GDD’s potential to support women’s financial inclusion and economic empowerment.
Blog » Supply-Side Gender-Disaggregated Data for Advancing Financial Inclusion: Insights and Areas for Further Research (2024)
Supply-Side Gender-Disaggregated Data for Advancing Financial Inclusion: Insights and Areas for Further Research (2024)
The gender gap in financial inclusion continues to be unacceptably high in most developing countries, highlighting the need to prioritize policies that promote gender equity in the financial sector more effectively. The financial inclusion community has supported the gender data agenda since the early 2010s through several global initiatives and country level efforts. While these initiatives have contributed to a notable increase in the availability and use of gender-disaggregated data, especially on the demand side, significant gaps continue to exist in the generation and, especially, in the use of administrative (supply-side) data. This paper examines efforts, focusing on supply-side gender-disaggregated data (S-GDD) initiatives. It explores how S-GDD has been collected and used, mainly by financial sector authorities but also by providers, and the challenges and opportunities associated with this work. It highlights lessons to date, identifies existing gaps, and proposes next steps for future work to unlock S-GDD’s potential to support women’s financial inclusion and economic empowerment.