Women’s financial inclusion and economic empowerment are critical building blocks in development. Between now and 2030, the target date for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the inclusion of women in the financial sector and their economic engagement and empowerment will unlock major milestones on the road to a more inclusive future. Recognizing this, Women’s World Banking set out to understand the relative weight of policy interventions, infrastructure, and social norms on women’s financial inclusion and on women’s economic empowerment.
We found that three enablers are strongly correlated with women’s financial inclusion and women’s economic empowerment: policy, infrastructure, and social norms. Specifically, the analysis showed that social norms and enabling policy—including equal inheritance rights, equal rights on immovable property, freedom of movement, and equal rights in employment —are the most influential factors affecting women’s economic empowerment. Download the report to learn more about our findings.
