The Relationship between Financial Inclusion and Women’s Financial Worries: Evidence from Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Financial inclusion is essential in achieving sustainable development goals in emerging countries. Goal number five of the sustainable development agenda, “Gender equality”, depends on women’s financial empowerment. It enhances women’s ability to make decisions, access resources and income, and control benefits from economic gains and power. The paper investigates the relationship between financial inclusion and women’s financial worries, using the 2021 Global Financial Inclusion Survey recently published by the World Bank for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This paper examines the effects of several aspects of inclusive finance, access, usage, and quality on women’s financial worries. The research implements an ordered probit analysis and contributes to the literature on women’s financial empowerment and inclusion by demonstrating that having access to financial services empowers women to make decisions about their lives, which greatly improves their welfare and sense of security. These findings provide policymakers with different targeted policies and strategic management practices to substantially improve financial inclusion and alleviate financial concerns within the population, especially among women.