| dc.description.abstract | Worldwide, about 80 percent of Savings Group members are women (SAVIX 2019). Gendered participation rates in Savings Groups mirror those of the microfinance sector, which set a precedent of emphasizing women as financial agents from its outset in the late 1970s. For advocates of women’s financial inclusion, the high ratio of female participation in Savings Groups is positive, as it contributes to addressing the persistent gender gap in access to financial services. In developing countries, only 59 percent of women have a bank account, compared to 67 percent of men, a difference which has been stagnant since 2011 (Demirgüç-Kunt et al. 2017). In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of women with an account is less than 30 percent (FSD Africa 2018). | en_US |
