Fintech environment and gender disparity in financial Inclusion: Empirical evidence from emerging markets

This study investigates the impact of the fintech environment on gender disparities in financial inclusion across 31 countries from 2013 to 2023. Utilizing gender-disaggregated data from the IMF Financial Access Survey (FAS), we construct a fintech environment index comprising five sub-indices that measure technological and institutional readiness for digital finance. We also develop a comprehensive gender disparity index based on weighted gaps across five key dimensions of financial inclusion. The empirical analysis also incorporates a range of gender-specific and macro-level country variables, including female literacy rates, female labor force participation rates, female unemployment rates, income levels, access to the internet and electricity, mobile subscriptions, and institutional quality. Our findings consistently demonstrate that a robust fintech environment significantly narrows the gender gap in financial inclusion. Higher female literacy and labor force participation further reduce disparities, whereas female unemployment and gender inequality widen the gap. Additional enabling factors, such as improved income levels, digital and financial infrastructure, and strong institutional quality, also help reduce disparities. These results remain consistent across alternative estimation methods (IV regression) and across subgroups defined by income levels, gender disparity levels, and geographical divisions.