Targeting women in inclusive insurance

Women around the globe are an underserved population across all financial services. Financial inclusion is an issue for both genders, however for many reasons, women are more excluded than men; with insurance, this is often referred to as the gender protection gap and it is pervasive across all socio-economic groupings. The ability to take advantage of risk management tools, such as insurance, relies on there being an appropriate supply of such services and products (currently lacking), and while it is correlated to a certain minimum level of income, also relies on women overcoming the gender related perils and pitfalls they face in their financial lives. Discrimination, in its many forms, including gender pay gaps and women being encouraged/forced to work in lower paid, often informal and often part-time work all fuel the gender protection gap. This is often compounded by no or limited financial education and feelings of intimidation around financial services. Furthermore, with the current COVID-19 pandemic, women are being disproportionately and negatively affected. This is the optimal time to act and promote women’s financial resilience. In this project, the ILO and IFC, the only multilateral development finance organization currently focusing on women and insurance, are co-creating a program focused on reducing the gender protection gap by: 1. Taking advantage of opportunities to increase the insurance industry’s awareness of the women’s insurance business case; 2. Providing advice and guidance to insurance companies and regulatory bodies on exploring opportunities of growth through the women’s market as consumers, agents and employees; and 3. Fostering learning and knowledge sharing among different industry stakeholders wishing to invest in the women’s market. The mode of this collaboration is through a series of activities, namely webinars, a community of practice, and knowledge management documentation. For over a decade, ILO has engaged with a wide set of stakeholders in the field of inclusive insurance and is well positioned to collaborate with IFC in promoting insurance solutions that meet the needs of women at various stages of their lives, as well as for female entrepreneurs and women-owned SMEs. Both the IFC and ILO have a mandate to mainstream gender. Reducing the gender protection gap by increasing financial protection and risk-mitigation mechanisms for women and women-owned SMEs is a priority for the ILO.

Project symbol

GLO/20/11/IFC

Admin unit

SFU

Start date

15/12/2020

End date

31/03/2022

Total allocation

45000

Total expenditure

Status

Closed

40146

Development Partners

World Bank, International Finance Corporation

Country/Countries

Global

Outcomes

Outcome 6: Gender equality and equal opportunities and treatment for all in the world of work