Gender Issues that Influence Financial Inclusion of Rural Women in Developing Nations.

Abstract

Rural women in the developing world often face barriers that hinder them from benefiting from the formal financial sector. They experience structural challenges which frustrate their efforts to participate meaningfully in rural development processes as a result of this financial exclusion. This subsequently leads to the feminization of poverty thereby reducing their chances for social mobility. This paper analyses the gender issues influence these rural women’s financial inclusion. The paper mainly relied on desk research to identify and analyses common factors influencing rural women in the developing world’s financial inclusion in the contemporary world. The researchers utilized a systematic literature review method to identify and analyse information related to rural women’s financial inclusion. This entailed a robust internet search for different articles deemed relevant to the topic under study. The search revealed that rural women face challenges to do with time poverty, rural-urban gender gap, and lack of gender mainstreaming and patriarchal barriers. Basing on the factors highlighted above, the paper recommends that women should be helped to acquire saving techniques, improve their mobility, coopted into agricultural leadership positions, enhance their access to and participation in livestock production and have their self-concept improved. There is also need for structural changes where the government and other development agencies gender mainstream different financial services and projects offered in rural areas and to promote gender sensitive training for rural women programmes. They should consider cultural, psychological and legislative barriers that hinder rural women’s financial inclusion so as to improve access to financial products and services. Contract farming companies should also consider the implementation of contracts plus programmes.