From the notes published by El Economista regarding Women’s Day, it is easy to know the gaps in financial inequality between women and men in Mexico. Women do obtain loans, but the most expensive ones and those that cover the lack of liquidity in the household, such as payroll loans, those that do not require collateral and are not used to acquire an asset. In reality, despite the fact that their credit score is not very different from that of men, they receive smaller loan amounts, due to lack of collateral and lower income. By the way, the economist Patricia López published Public policies for the financial inclusion of women, a document from the Espinosa Yglesias Study Center, which analyzes data and interviews, reviews literature and proposes alternatives to promote the financial inclusion of women in the country. .
In Mexico, both men and women have low levels of banking in relation to the most developed nations of Latin America, but the case is worse with respect to women, for example, only 33% of them have a bank account, against 39% % Men’s. The most pronounced difference occurs in access to savings in formal financial institutions.
One of the questions López asks is whether fintechs can contribute to reducing the financial gaps between men and women, although currently only 21% of them use them, compared to 29% of men. In principle, this should happen due to the advantages they offer in terms of financial innovation. The reasons for women’s lesser access to the financial system are several: they, in general, have fewer formal jobs, frequently have work breaks for reasons of maternity and child rearing, obtain lower income and fewer property assets, in relation to the mens. In addition, because they perform multiple tasks, for example caregiving, they have less time to go to a bank branch, they are more exposed to security and even mobility problems, since they do more work at home. This is critical in rural areas where physical financial services are scarce.
Patricia López points out that the bankarization of women, especially in the rural sector and in certain marginalized sectors, increased due to the increase in monetary transfer programs, certain micro-credit initiatives and even the greater reception of remittances. It is a low-intensity bankarization, in which only the accounts serve as deposits; however, the magnitude of this phenomenon does represent an opportunity to offer financial alternatives linked to these deposits.
An obvious factor for fintech to serve to increase women’s access to financial services is to increase connectivity, which is undoubtedly already happening and tends to accelerate. The industry is required to work on financial education mechanisms that facilitate the responsible use of applications among people of different ages and educational levels. It is important that schemes are designed to qualify the credit quality of women in new ways, that not only consider formal income and properties, but also other factors such as the regularity with which previous credits have been paid, total family income and that informal jobs are recognized.
It is necessary, López points out, to design formal alternatives to informal financial practices that already work and that really respond to the needs of women, such as tandas, which connect the immediate financing needs of some people with the savings needs of others. . It is important to generate savings and financing mechanisms for retirement, housing and home improvement, financing of productive projects and insurance.
The study finds that women’s greater access to banking can not only improve their income and opportunities, but also that of all future generations, since they tend to ask for financing to pay for services such as education and health. , for the benefit of the whole family and consequently, of society.
That is why the participation of women in the economy is essential to counteract the structural inequality that has increased in recent years.
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A graduate in Economics from the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM), he has a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Management from the University of Essex, United Kingdom, and a Ph.D. in Public Administration and Management from the University of York.