Financial inclusion

Explanatory note

There is extensive evidence that women face multiple structural barriers and differentiated constraints compared to men when it comes to accessing accounts, credit, insurance and other financial instruments. Many of these barrier’s stem from gender social norms that define different roles for women and men. These norms limit women’s participation in paid activities, resulting in them typically holding lower-income jobs, which, in turn, restricts their access to resources and reduces their economic power and autonomy.
Overcoming these gaps is essential for strengthening women’s economic autonomy, as equal opportunities in access to savings and credit services enable women to exercise greater control over their income and assets, develop their businesses and career paths, reduce economic vulnerability and expand their participation in the economy overall.

In this context, financial inclusion with a gender perspective constitutes an essential component for advancing women’s economic empowerment. This requires the adoption of regulatory frameworks that recognise existing inequalities and promote specific and differentiated responses, both in the general regulation of the financial system and in access to credit, the management of deposits and payment instruments, and, increasingly, in access, use and security of digital financial services (Fintech).

The classification used in this platform to measure the degree of financial inclusion is defined across four sub-areas. However, it should be interpreted with caution, since some countries have other regulations that, although not directly related to the financial sector, play a significant role by fostering a conducive environment for the design and implementation of gender-responsive financial inclusion policies.

Legislation: Which are the main legislative sources analysed?

Constitution: principles of equality, non-discrimination, and access to economic and social rights.

General financial system laws: banking laws, financial institutions or equivalent framework regulations, credit, microcredit, cooperatives and guarantees.

Laws on digital financial services and Fintech.

Laws on payment systems, deposits and transfers.

General consumer protection laws and specific regulations for financial users.

Laws on personal data protection, habeas data and financial information processing.

Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorism Financing (CTF) laws linked to financial institutions.

Laws on economic promotion, financial access and business development.

Sub-areas and criteria: What do we analyse in this area?

Sub-area	Criteria
General regulation of the financial system	Consideration of guiding principles such as equality, non-discrimination based on sex or gender, intersectionality and interculturality. Includes regulation of development banks and cooperatives within the financial ecosystem. Also considers financial education, sex-disaggregated data, affirmative action measures for supervisory bodies and financial institutions, and the existence of institutional mechanisms for gender mainstreaming. Includes analysis of constitutional provisions and equality and non-discrimination laws.
Credit	Analysis of access to and assessment of credit and regulation of various types of guarantees. Existence of credit information bureaus, consumer access to such information, and personal data protection, dispute resolution mechanisms, and consumer rights, with particular attention to whether specific considerations exist for women consumers.
Deposits and payments	Establishment of systems allowing account opening and maintenance with minimum requirements (existence of simplified accounts).
Fintech and digital financial services	Analysis of regulations related to innovation, such as electronic payments, digital signatures, entrepreneurship, regulatory sandboxes, regulations addressing women’s specific barriers and needs, and promotion of women-led innovative enterprises, among other issues.

Provisions: What information is included in the comments?

Sub-area	Provision
General regulation of the financial system	Indicate whether regulations recognise equality of treatment and non-discrimination; whether consumer protection and personal data protection rules exist; whether regulations promote gender parity in leadership positions within regulatory bodies or financial institutions; and whether institutional mechanisms for gender mainstreaming exist, such as specialised units, mandatory gender training, or gender gap reporting.
Credit	Indicate whether credit information bureaus are regulated; the type and scope of credit guarantees; whether alternative creditworthiness assessment systems exist; whether access to microcredit and credit for MSMEs is promoted; whether fiscal incentives and/or financing exist for women and women-led businesses; and whether AML/CTF frameworks are applied according to risk-based criteria.
Deposits and payments	Indicate whether regulations allow account opening with minimum requirements and, where applicable, which entity establishes them.
Fintech and digital financial services	Indicate whether consumer protection rules exist in digital environments; whether Fintech regulations consider women’s specific barriers; whether electronic money, mobile payments and digital financial services are regulated; whether crowdfunding or collective investment is regulated; whether innovation incentives and tax benefits exist; and whether specific rules promote women-led innovative enterprises.

Recommendations: What criteria are used for the recommendation?

General regulation of the financial system

Criterion	Definition	Binding recommendation
Preserve	Where the current legal framework establishes equality as a guiding principle; where regulations exist to promote and ensure parity in the representation of women and men in senior positions within regulatory bodies or financial system entities; where financial education is promoted with a gender perspective; and where the generation of statistics with gender indicators and periodic reporting on gender gaps in the financial system are encouraged.	No further regulatory action is required. No recommendation is therefore made.
Expand	The current legal framework contains partial regulations to promote and ensure parity in the representation of women and men in senior positions within regulatory bodies or financial system entities, and/or financial education, and the generation of statistics has limited scope regarding a gender perspective. The regulation requires greater coverage or depth.	Promote the development of affirmative action measures and institutional mechanisms for gender mainstreaming in the financial system.
Reform	Where current regulatory provisions are identified that present inconsistencies or limit the promotion of affirmative actions in the composition of decision-making bodies within regulatory authorities and financial institutions, as well as in financial education with a gender perspective, the generation of statistics with gender indicators, and periodic reporting on gender gaps in the financial system. Expanding the regulation would not be sufficient; structural changes are required.	Reform provisions that limit gender mainstreaming, gender statistics and parity measures.
Eliminate	Where the regulatory framework contains provisions that generate direct or indirect discrimination, thereby constituting a barrier to financial inclusion and therefore requiring full repeal or replacement.	Repeal or replace discriminatory regulations.

Credit

Criterion	Definition	Binding recommendation
Preserve	Where regulations promote credit information systems, diverse guarantees, alternative risk assessment and incentives for women.	No further regulatory action is required. No recommendation is therefore made.
Expand	Where the current legal framework has limited scope to promote diverse types of guarantees, and/or to encourage the development of alternative risk assessment methods, and/or to foster tax incentives or interest rate subsidies for women and women-led businesses. The regulatory framework requires greater coverage or depth.	Promote regulatory development to expand these mechanisms.
Reform	Where the regulatory framework contains inconsistencies or provisions that hinder the promotion of diverse types of guarantees, the development of alternative risk assessment methods, and the fostering of tax incentives or interest rate subsidies for women and women-led businesses.	Modify regulations to remove barriers.
Eliminate	Where discriminatory credit regulations exist.	Repeal discriminatory provisions.

Deposits and payments

Criterion	Definition	Binding recommendation
Preserve	Where regulations establish systems that allow account opening and maintenance with minimal requirements, reducing gender gaps.	No further regulatory action is required. No recommendation is therefore made.
Expand	Where regulations establish limited-scope systems for account opening and maintenance with minimal requirements, aiming to reduce the gaps affecting women and excluded groups.	Promote regulatory development to expand these mechanisms.
Reform	Where existing regulatory provisions are inconsistent and/or lack a gender perspective for account opening and maintenance.	Modify provisions that create barriers to account opening and maintenance.
Eliminate	Where the regulatory framework establishes systems of limited scope for opening and maintaining accounts with minimal requirements, and for reducing the gaps affecting women and excluded groups.	Repeal or replace regulations that create exclusion in access to deposits and payments.

Fintech and digital financial services

Criterion	Definition	Binding recommendation
Preserve	Where gender-responsive Fintech regulations exist.	No further regulatory action is required. No recommendation is therefore made.
Expand	Where Fintech-specific regulations that consider the barriers and needs of women are insufficient, or where specific rules to promote women-led innovative entrepreneurship are limited and require expansion.	Incorporate women’s needs into Fintech regulation and promote women-led innovation.
Reform	Where the regulatory framework presents gaps, inconsistent provisions, and lacks a gender perspective, thereby hindering access to and use of Fintech.	Modify provisions lacking gender perspective.
Eliminate	Where discriminatory regulatory provisions lacking a gender perspective are identified in relation to women’s access to Fintech and/or the promotion of women-led innovative entrepreneurship.	Repeal discriminatory Fintech regulations.