A research paper on the position of women in the current financial ecosystem in Bangladesh has been published. This publication was unveiled in an event titled ‘Gender Inclusive Financial Ecosystem: Bangladesh Symposium’ at a local hotel in the capital on the evening of 17 October 2022 jointly organized by a2i and LightCastle Partners. As part of the event, a panel discussion was held on the issues of financial inclusion of women in Bangladesh.
The event was organized with the participation of the representatives of the participating organizations with the aim of motivating the concerned regulators, financial service providers, public-private organizations and development cooperation organizations to design women-friendly financial services and promote these services widely among women.
Women’s participation in economic activities has increased in Bangladesh over the past few years. Women continue to make important contributions in various sectors from entrepreneurship to service sector and institutional-non-institutional sectors. According to World Bank data, women’s labor force participation in Bangladesh is 35%. But still women manage their finances using traditional methods which are generally unsafe, risky and can be more expensive. According to Findex-2021, 57% of women in the country still do not have any institutional financial services account and 80% of women have never opened a mobile bank account.
The leading commercial banks of the country have now launched some special financial services for women. Although special financial services have been introduced for women, still a large section of women remain out of it. As a result, they are failing to get the benefits of these financial services, leaving a visible gender gap in financial inclusion. Making the financial services of financial service providers more women-friendly and increasing women’s literacy about these services is one of the main objectives of the government’s financial inclusion program.
Project Director (Joint Secretary) of a2i Dr. Dewan Muhammad Humayun Kabir presided over the meeting. Director General (Additional Secretary) Farida Parveen, Executive Director of Bangladesh Bank Md. Abul Bashar, Professor of Economics Department of Dhaka University Dr. Salim Raihan, former president and managing director of Bank Asia Md. Arfan Ali, Snigdha Ali, senior program officer of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Gender Advisor of We-Fi and Deputy Managing Director of Meghna Bank Shyamal B. Das were present as honored guests.
The event was attended by senior officials of a2i and LightCastle Partners and media persons.
