As Women’s World Banking President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian aptly notes, The global average hides the starker reality of the situation women face. In some countries, it will take over 100 years to achieve gender equality in financial access without further intervention. The urgency of this issue becomes even clearer when considering the World Economic Forum’s estimation that it will take a staggering 267.6 years to close the gender gap in economic participation and opportunity.

One significant driver of this disparity is the lack of intentionality in designing financial products for women. When financial services fail to account for the unique challenges and circumstances women face, they inadvertently reinforce existing barriers. To address this disparity, the financial services industry must become more gender intentional—acknowledging the lived realities of women, understanding the systemic barriers they encounter, and actively working to create solutions that enable their economic growth and prosperity.

The consequences of inaction are severe. We simply cannot wait more than 100 years to achieve gender equality in financial services. Unequal access to technology, compounded by socioeconomic and cultural obstacles, exacerbates the vulnerabilities faced by women worldwide. Consider the gender gap in smartphone ownership: as of the latest data, this gap has grown to 18%, up from 15% in 2021. This translates to 315 million fewer women than men owning a smartphone, effectively limiting their access to digital financial services, online banking, and opportunities for economic participation. Without targeted interventions, this gap threatens to widen further, leaving millions of women even more marginalized.

Achieving financial inclusion for women requires urgent, collective action. Financial services providers hold a unique position to drive meaningful change by adopting a gender-intelligent approach to designing their products and services. While many in the industry now understand why gender-intelligent design is critical, there remains a significant gap: the lack of a comprehensive, practical framework for implementing these strategies effectively.

This is where Women’s World Banking’s women-centered design methodology comes into play. Women-centered design is a groundbreaking approach that places women customers at the heart of the product design process. Unlike traditional methodologies that often treat women as an afterthought, this approach starts with understanding women’s specific needs, behaviors, and barriers to access. By involving women in every stage of the design process, financial services providers can create products that not only increase women’s access to formal financial services but also address the root causes of exclusion.

The benefits of this methodology extend beyond social impact. Gender-intelligent design can drive significant business outcomes, unlocking new markets and fostering customer loyalty. By meeting the needs of a historically underserved population, financial institutions can tap into a vast and largely untapped customer base while simultaneously contributing to the global goal of closing the gender gap in financial inclusion.

The objective of this publication is to empower financial services providers with the tools and confidence needed to adopt women-centered design effectively. By sharing the methodology, Women’s World Banking aims to bridge the gap between theory and practice, equipping the industry with actionable insights and strategies for developing financial products and services that truly work for women. As we work towards our goal of revolutionizing product design in womens financial inclusion, we encourage you to join us. 

The path to gender equality in financial services is neither simple nor swift, but it is achievable. With intentionality, innovation, and collaboration, the financial services industry can play a pivotal role in reshaping the economic landscape for women. The time to act is now. By embracing women-centered design, financial institutions can lead the way in creating a future where every woman has the opportunity to achieve financial independence and security. Together, we can accelerate the pace of change and ensure that gender equality in financial services becomes a reality within our lifetimes.