How do Filipino women perform in the field of finance? Is the future of finance female-led?
These questions spark conversations all the time. According to the 2021 Financial Inclusion Survey (FIS) of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP):
- Filipino women consistently outperformed men in basic financial inclusion indicators
- 57% of Filipino women had transaction accounts compared to only 54% of men
- More Filipino women owned accounts in microfinance NGOs and cooperatives
But while this figure suggests a state of gender inclusion favorable to women, there remains other dimensions of inclusion where women lag behind men like owning more sophisticated forms of transaction accounts as well as taking up resilience building financial assets such as insurance and investment.
Thus, Atty. Charina B. De Vera-Yap, Managing Director of Financial Inclusion and Consumer Empowerment Sub-Sector of the BSP, emphasized in her speech on gender-focused financing that the appreciation of the state of women’s inclusion in the Philippines depends on where we direct our attention.
“For micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in our country, which is dominated by women entrepreneurs, women-owned and led businesses remain still at a disadvantage,” she added.
The following data from the FIS supports her statement:
- More than half of women-owned MSMEs perceived access to finance as a challenge compared with only one third of men-owned MSMEs
- Women business owners exhibited greater reluctance to seek funding in contrast to their male counterparts
- Most women-owned MSMEs only had basic barangay or mayor’s office permits unlike male entrepreneurs registered with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
- Women entrepreneurs used fewer banking services than their male counterparts
- Only 9% of women-led MSMEs received training and knowledge building seminars
“If we want to support the development of the MSME sector to realize its full potential as driver of inclusive economic growth, we cannot overlook access to finance of women as a specific focus of our inclusion work,” Atty. Yap underscored.
She also suggested that policymakers can tailor interventions that will address specific barriers to financial inclusion by understanding the challenges and needs of women-owned MSMEs. For their part, Atty. Yap said that the BSP strives to create an enabling environment that addresses the hurdles faced by Filipinos, particularly women in accessing financial services.
Efforts of the central bank include the introduction of the Basic Deposit Accounts in 2018, the adoption of the Standard Business Loan Application Form (SBLAF), the development of the Agent Registry System, the implementation of the SheMeansBusiness Business Resiliency through Financial Education (BRFE) Program, among others.
Atty. Yap further emphasized the importance of collecting gender-disaggregated data (GDD) collection to ensure the sustainability of women’s financial inclusion initiatives.
“Gender data serves as a cornerstone for informed policy making and the refinement of programs tailored to address the diverse needs of women in the financial landscape,” she explained.
In addition, Atty. Yap said that the BSP has various institutionalized partnerships with key government agencies like the PCW, which she commended for their strong commitment to the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI) 2022-2028.
“We thank the Philippine Commission on Women for our continued partnership to achieve meaningful, positive outcomes for women as financial consumers. Since joining the Inter-Agency Financial Inclusion Steering Committee in 2020, PCW has provided leadership in making significant strides in women’s financial inclusion possible,” she proudly said.
Atty. Yap also shared that the BSP has more women executives for many years now, with 61% occupying managerial and executive positions. She is optimistic that this trend will continue in the years to come.
“This also shows that the BSP has remained steadfast in our commitment to empowering women through building an inclusive work environment. The BSP is committed to fostering an environment conducive to the development of financing ecosystem that better serves the needs of MSMEs and the agriculture sector with a particular focus on women,” she stated.
Atty. Yap ended her speech by stressing the importance of collaboration among various stakeholders from both public and private sectors.
“We remain dedicated to working closely with you, our partners, to advance our shared goals of financial inclusion. Together, we aim to create a more inclusive and resilient financial system that benefits all Filipinos,” she declared.
Aside from the BSP, the IWD Celebration was graced with the presence of financial experts such as Ms. Leila C. Martin (Executive Vice President and Head of Digital Banking Sector from Land Bank of the Philippines), Atty. Federico Tancongco (Senior Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer, and Head of Compliance and Legal Department of BDO Unibank), Mr. Joel C. Andres (SAVP of the Consumer Banking Group Fraud Risk Management Unit of BDO Unibank), and Ms. Gina Romero (Co-Founder of Connected Women). They served as panelists in one of the dialogues and shared their perspectives on the impact of technology on the field of finance particularly the banking sector.