Convening globally diverse advocates for women’s economic empowerment has always been a core aspect of Women’s World Banking’s work, and now more than ever, with so many women facing the negative economic consequences of a global pandemic, it is so crucial that we continue to do so. Our flagship platform for bringing the world together, the Making Finance Work for Women (MFWW) Summit, has become recognized as one of the most important forums for policymakers, practitioners, financial services industry and development professionals with an interest in gender equality to share ideas and best practice, enabling us to coordinate and align our efforts to accelerate change. Every two years more and more organizations and individuals came together under the MFWW banner to learn from each other, to solve problems and renew our mutual commitment to financial equality for women and girls. As COVID-19’s impact threatens to erase decades of progress in our work, we must find ways to continue to work together on a global scale.
In the face of lockdown restrictions, in 2020 we found a way to do that by making our MFWW Summit fully virtual. It was no small feat to capture the workshops and networking opportunities into what can be the sterility of a virtual platform, but thanks to some great technology and inspirational speakers, we were joined by 497 people from 48 countries, a true testament to how committed the financial inclusion community is during the pandemic. Emboldened by this success, and driven by the urgency of our work, we are going even further and launching the bi-monthly, virtual Making Finance Work for Women Thought Leadership Series. Women’s World Banking has a wealth of significant research and insights from our Advisory, Policy and Investments work that we believe are critical to share with the wider community during this virtual series. We also have important partners who wish to amplify their voices in the service of low-income women – topics, such as gender lens investing, savings mobilization, and the importance of collecting and reporting sex-disaggregated data, are so vital if we are to build fairer and more inclusive financial systems in the future.
The first event in the MFWW Thought Leadership series focuses on digital financial capability. It will feature a discussion on how FSPs and regulators can effectively support women customers to gain the confidence and skills to participate fully in the rapidly digitizing formal financial sector. Speakers include Marina Dimova (Women’s World Banking), Julia Arnold (Center for Financial Inclusion), Samit Ghosh (Ujjivan Small Finance Bank), and Catherine Highet (FinEquity). You can register here, and join us in ensuring women are not left behind as the financial industry continues adopting digital financial services.
This is the time to embrace new ways to work together and find solutions. Our first MFWW Thought Leadership Series event will be on April 28th. Join us in making impactful decisions and maintaining focus on eradicating financial inequalities for underserved women!
