Gender Insights from Financial Diaries
Year Ended:
2016
Key Partners/Clients:
Omidyar Network
Area of Work:
Digital Financial Services, Gender Finance, Livelihoods and Microenterprise
Countries:
India, Kenya, Mexico
The microfinance industry began with a focus on women’s empowerment through access to credit and discussions of financial inclusion today, through much broader-based to cover the spectrum of population segments, continue to reflect a desire to better serve women. Yet evidence about how financial behavior differs by gender is limited. To gain a deeper understanding of women’s unique financial behavior and needs, BFA Global analyzed data from the Kenya Financial Diaries (~300 households), Mexico Financial Diaries (185 households), and India Financial Diaries (~90 households) from a gender perspective. This project aimed to challenge and advance the financial inclusion industry’s thinking about what low-income women need from financial services. The Omidyar Foundation aims to engage its portfolio companies around the findings to explore paths for product adjustments or development.