Although there has been improvement in Pakistan’s total financial inclusion over the past ten years, the gender disparity in account ownership more than doubled, reaching 32% in 2021. In the absence of prompt action, the World Data Lab predicts that by 2030, this disparity would increase to more than 42%. Pakistan placed third lowest in Asia and fourth lowest overall on female financial inclusion in a World Bank assessment covering 135 economies. Over three-quarters of Pakistani women do not have access to banking.
Pakistani women face multiple barriers:
Due to low female labor force participation, most women do not have a reliable source of income and are mostly dependent on their male family members for their basic necessities. Gender roles are influenced by social and religious traditions, where women are perceived as caregivers rather than wage earners. Since banks view women as high-risk, it is challenging for them to open and maintain normal bank accounts when they do not have official income or the necessary papers.
Furthermore, women are less able to use official banking channels and are more vulnerable to fraud due to low literacy rates and inadequate financial education. Due to lengthy commutes and extensive travel periods, rural women’s access to banks is even more restricted, further marginalizing them.
women’s financial inclusion requires strong:
In order to facilitate gender-inclusive finance, new regulations must ease the industry’s ongoing liquidity problems. A significant step toward increasing women’s financial inclusion is the central bank’s Banking on Equality Policy. Significant efforts have also taken by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan to improve the legal framework governing nonbank financial firms, such as microfinance organizations that typically cater to women in Pakistan.
Play a critical role:
In addition to encouraging the nation’s financial institutions to incorporate a gender perspective into the national financial services industry and expand access to digital financial services like mobile banking, digital wallets, and banks on wheels, they should keep exerting influence over actions taken by financial service providers to advance gender-inclusive finance. Financial institutions can also require more thorough gender-disaggregated data gathering and target setting, as well as encourage more gender diversity at their access points.
Commercial banks and fintech companies should keep investing time and money to develop women-centric goods and services, train staff members on gender sensitivity, and better understand the needs of female consumers and the strategic importance of the women’s market.
