Key Evidence

A lack of focus on women customers has resulted in missed opportunities for women’s financial inclusion and for better business outcomes.

Evidence suggests that expanding the customer base to include new populations, including women, has largely not been a priority of FSPs. Women customers are viewed primarily through a social impact lens, rather than a core driver of business expansion and growth. As the landscape of financial services is becoming more crowded and competitive, it becomes harder to differentiate and expand market share. FSPs’ failure to focus on, and therefore design for, women customers is correlated with both lower financial inclusion and access for women, and reduced revenue for FSPs themselves. There is a need to engage women customers as central to market penetration and long-term competitiveness, rather than an add-on to social objectives.

• A 2025 survey of financial services providers finds that while nearly 80% of institutions reported having strategies focused on serving women customers, the primary drivers for launching new products and services were cost and profitability considerations, corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, and government mandates, rather than a dedicated commitment to women customers segments. (Women’s World Banking, 2026)
• An analysis of 93 Women’s World Banking advisory solutions projects reveals that a lack of strategic focus on women customers consistently emerged as a major barrier. The research underscores that creating a well-defined value proposition for women requires strong board- and executive-level buy-in. (Women’s World Banking, 2026)

Evidence points to a need for executive-level buy-in and commitment, and increased availability of GDD to support focus on women customers.

Across many financial institutions, limited use of GDD has made it difficult to fully understand and serve the diverse needs of women customers, who are often treated as a single segment rather than distinct groups such as salaried workers, rural microentrepreneurs, or growth-stage women-led SMEs. A more data-driven and iterative approach would allow institutions to invest in deploying and testing targeted solutions and learning quickly to identify what drives both impact and business returns. This in turn could support enhanced executive support for women-centric design through evidence-based decision-making.

• Reinforcing the understanding of women-led businesses as a distinct segment with a clear value proposition requires buy-in from the board and executive management, along with clear communication and training for employees on why women customer segments matter and how best to design and deliver products that serve them. (Women’s World Banking, 2022)
• In 2016, AXA launched a global initiative targeting the women’s insurance market, partnering with the International Finance Corporation and Accenture to address a $1.7 trillion global opportunity. Through extensive market research, AXA uncovered gender-specific needs and tailored its products, accordingly, including health and SME-focused solutions. By 2019, 17 AXA business units had made women customers a strategic priority, resulting in the development of 26 dedicated products. (Data2X, 2020)