Abstract
Digital finance presents great hope for the financial inclusion of women. At last, more women may enter the world economy and benefit from financial products and markets as others have for generations before them. However, the risks of digital finance as a method to achieve financial inclusion are not insignificant – including personal security issues such as vulnerability to scams, and inappropriate products for their financial circumstances. There are also broader implications for communities and society. Despite increased financial inclusion globally and improved access to digital financial services, inequality and inequity across societies in both developed and emerging economies persists.
The risks and consequences of the growth and spread of digital finance must therefore be anticipated and mitigated in order for women to achieve financial inclusion and ultimately financial well-being.
Through an ethical analysis of digital finance as a method to achieve financial inclusion of women, this chapter concludes that policy makers, established financial institutions, new providers, NGOs, and philanthropists engaged in the development and promotion of digital finance should recognize a concurrent responsibility to actively mitigate the forces that could threaten the well-being of women. Women with money are set to grow as an economic force. Given the right protections, all of society stands to benefit from women finally gaining the power that money affords.
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Kofman, P., Payne, C. (2020). Digital Financial Inclusion of Women: An Ethical Appraisal. In: San-Jose, L., Retolaza, J.L., van Liedekerke, L. (eds) Handbook on Ethics in Finance. International Handbooks in Business Ethics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00001-1_34-1
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