Bridging or widening the gender gap? The moderating role of education in gendered outcomes of financial inclusion

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of financial inclusion and digital financial inclusion on the gender gap in developing economies and, specifically, to examine the role that education can play in this process. Design/methodology/approach The authors employ a linear probability model to estimate the difference between the likelihood of men and women receiving wages or income from sales, using a dataset comprising 82,114 observations from 110 developing countries included in the Global Findex 2021 report. The issues of robustness and endogeneity are addressed by estimating two instrumental variable models and one model based on propensity score matching. Findings The results suggest that financial inclusion exerts a positive impact on both women and men, though this effect is contingent on educational attainment. Specifically, the benefits of digital financial inclusion appear to be more pronounced for women with a higher level of education. Research limitations/implications Longitudinal studies would be necessary to analyze the impact of financial inclusion over time. Practical implications The findings underscore the importance of promoting policies aimed at mitigating the specific barriers faced by women, particularly with regard to education, in order to ensure equitable access to and utilization of digital financial services. Originality/value While previous studies have examined general trends in financial inclusion, there is limited research on how education specifically influences the gender gap in digital financial inclusion.