Relevance of gender to financial inclusion and digital economy
Relevance of gender to financial inclusion and digital economy Analysis of Asian Development Bank’s report on “Closing the Gender Gap in Financial Inclusion through Fintech,” reveals glaring data on the lack of financial inclusion of women in the economy. Women that form a sizeable proportion in the demographics of each Asian country do not own bank accounts due to insufficient funds, lack of documentation, religious reasons and lack of trust. Philippines, Pakistan and Cambodia show highest proportions of women lacking a basic account in a financial institution. Since the transition of Asian countries to digital economy, the issue of financial inclusion seems to have closed the gap in the past few years, especially in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Malaysia, the People Republic of China and Afghanistan while India, Bangladesh, Tajikistan and Pakistan still give a stark depiction of gender gap. The factors affecting the degree and type o