UNECA discusses efforts to improve women’s access to financial services

Efforts to improve women’s access to financial services and create more economic opportunities for them have come into focus as the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) works with Ghana to promote gender-responsive fiscal policies.

The initiative, which seeks to make financial inclusion more accessible to women across the country, is expected to identify practical ways of strengthening gender-responsive budgeting, improving access to financial services and providing targeted technical support to relevant institutions.

As part of the exercise, UNECA, in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, has held a technical consultation to examine Ghana’s existing financial inclusion policies and explore ways of making them more responsive to women’s needs.

The meeting brought together representatives from government institutions, financial sector organisations, civil society and development partners to share experiences and discuss strategies for advancing women’s economic empowerment.

Speaking on behalf of the Chief Director, the Director of the Policy Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate, Mrs Florence Ayisi Quartey, welcomed the UNECA delegation and participants.

She described the consultation as a valuable opportunity for stakeholders to review existing policies, exchange ideas and identify areas requiring attention to improve women’s participation in economic activities.

Mrs Quartey expressed the Ministry’s appreciation for UNECA’s engagement and said the team’s expertise would be useful in strengthening the implementation and impact of programmes aimed at promoting gender equality.

The UNECA team explained that its mission was to gain a better understanding of Ghana’s financial inclusion systems and identify practical tools for tracking progress and building the capacity of relevant institutions.

It noted that women’s financial needs were not the same, stressing the importance of developing inclusive strategies that took into account the circumstances of young women, female entrepreneurs and women in vulnerable situations.

Participants also discussed some of the challenges preventing women from accessing financial services and examined how fiscal policies could be designed to address those barriers.

The discussions further explored ways of making financial sector initiatives more responsive to women while ensuring that public budgeting and resource allocation took gender considerations into account.

The scoping mission is expected to culminate in a comprehensive assessment that will guide recommendations for improving gender-responsive budgeting, strengthening financial inclusion and expanding economic opportunities for women.

The exercise is also expected to contribute to broader efforts to ensure that women are better positioned to participate in and benefit from Ghana’s economic development.

By Spectator Reporter

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