Breaking Barriers or Reinforcing Inequalities? A Systematic Review of Women's Economic Empowerment and Financial Inclusion Initiatives in Zimbabwe (2020–2025): Policy Gaps, Feminist Perspectives, And Pathways to Inclusive Growth

Abstract: Women's Economic Empowerment (WEE) and Financial Inclusion (FI) initiatives in Zimbabwe have proliferated significantly between 2020 and 2025, yet persistent gender disparities challenge their transformative potential. This systematic review critically examines whether these initiatives genuinely break down barriers to women's economic participation or inadvertently reinforce existing inequalities when analyzed through a feminist lens. Following PRISMA guidelines, we systematically reviewed 47 peer-reviewed articles, policy documents, and grey literature spanning 2020-2025, focusing on WEE and FI initiatives targeting women in Zimbabwe. Our analysis employed feminist theoretical frameworks, particularly intersectionality and post-colonial feminism, to interrogate how these initiatives engage with structural gender power relations. Key findings reveal substantial progress in women's formal financial inclusion, rising from 69% in 2014 to 83% in 2022, with the gender gap in financial access effectively closed. However, deeper analysis exposes concerning patterns: women's share of total bank loans declined by 2.7 percentage points despite absolute increases, 91.6% of employed women remain in informal work, and persistent collateral requirements exclude many from meaningful credit access. The review identifies critical policy gaps including inadequate attention to unpaid care work, limited operationalization of gender-responsive budgeting, and insufficient challenge to patriarchal structures underlying economic exclusion. While initiatives demonstrate instrumental gains in access, they fall short of achieving transformative empowerment that fundamentally alters gender power relations. Our feminist analysis reveals that current approaches often integrate women into existing unequal economic systems rather than challenging structural inequalities. The study recommends a paradigm shift toward transformative policies that address root causes of gender inequality, strengthen intersectional approaches recognizing diverse women's experiences, and institutionalize feminist economic principles in policy design. These findings contribute to scholarly understanding of WEE and FI effectiveness while providing evidence-based recommendations for achieving genuinely inclusive economic growth in Zimbabwe and similar contexts.