Driving Women's Financial Inclusion at All Levels
Explore the latest global and regional insights from Women’s World Banking’s work in policy, leadership, women’s entrepreneurship, gender lens investing, and more.
Latest Posts
Unlock Women’s Economic Power—At Scale
A trillion-dollar opportunity. A proven path to growth. Millions of women are navigating rising costs, climate shocks, and caregiving demands—without the financial tools to protect income, build savings, or grow businesses. 700 million remain excluded from the formal financial system. When women can fully participate in financial systems, economies grow. Download the two-pager to see
Why women lack ID — and what policymakers can do
For most people, proving identity is effortless: a simple presentation of a government identification (ID) opens access to services such as healthcare, bank accounts, SIM cards, and the right to vote. Yet, according to the World Bank’s 2024 Identification for Development (ID4D) Initiative data, about 800 million people lack identification, with women disproportionately affected. As governments expand digital public infrastructure
How policymakers can close the digital ID gender gap
As governments accelerate digital public infrastructure (DPI) investments, ensuring equitable access to digital ID is critical to avoid deepening existing inequalities. Online digital ID refers to systems that allow individuals to securely verify their identity remotely for services such as banking, government programs, and digital transactions. Yet billions of people worldwide still lack access
The MFWW Podcast Ep. 33: AI Is Evolving Finance. Are Protections Keeping Pace?
AI is reshaping digital finance, but trust will determine whether it expands or limits opportunity. In this episode, AI and Deepfake Cartographer Henry Ajder joins us to unpack what rapid advances in AI mean for trust, safety, and financial inclusion. As tools like deepfakes and voice cloning become more sophisticated, synthetic
The MFWW Podcast Ep. 32: Instant Money, Real Barriers: Can Tokenized Payments Deliver for Low-Income Women?
Tokenized payments promise instant settlement, near-zero transaction costs, and fewer intermediaries—but can they actually work for low-income women and women-led MSMEs operating on thin margins and informal cash flows? In this episode, we’re joined by Elisabeth Carpenter, Chief Strategic Engagement Officer at Circle, to unpack the real potential—and real constraints—of stablecoins and tokenized cash. We explore whether
Have we truly reached the last mile in access to finance?
The world has seen significant progress in financial access, with 79% of adults having access to an account at a bank or similar financial institution. The 2025 Global Findex attributes much of this progress to increased access to mobile technology, including mobile phone ownership and internet use, with 86% of adults globally now owning a mobile
Is it too expensive to serve low-income, women customers? Debunking product design myths
It is a common sentiment amongst financial institutions that goes something like: “We’d love to serve low-income women, but it’s just too costly.” This assumption that catering to women customers inherently undermines profitability has lingered for years. But is it really true? We explored this in our research and found that nearly two-thirds of financial
Restoring Trust in Digital Finance: 3 Ways to Tackle Consumer Protection Barriers
The World Bank’s Global Findex report states that roughly half of unbanked adults globally cite lack of trust as a reason for not having an account. Financial institutions are well aware that trust is a problem, yet two-thirds of surveyed providers have no clear trust-building strategy to address it. In this post, we
The MFWW Podcast Ep. 31: Something to Buzz About: When Inclusion Becomes Economic Opportunity
Financial inclusion is a starting point—but it’s not the finish line. In this episode of Making Finance Work for Women, we speak with Monika Shukla, Co-Founder & CEO of Humble Bee, on how inclusive business models can unlock economic opportunity for women at the margins. Monika unpacks how she is transforming India’s beekeeping sector by
Inclusive Innovation: When Technology Expands Markets—and Opportunity
Innovation is transforming financial services—but inclusion doesn’t happen by default. As AI, blockchain, and digital platforms reshape how financial products are built and delivered, the critical question is whether these advances expand opportunity—or reinforce existing gaps. Despite rapid technological progress, 1.3 billion people—700 million women and 600 million men—are still excluded from the formal
