Role of Financial Regulators and Supervisors in Promoting Women’s Financial Inclusion : Evidence from the Central Bank of Nigeria

Women’s financial inclusion has become increasingly important across the globe as surveys have revealed that women are disproportionately excluded from the financial system. They lack access to basic financial services more than their male counterparts. Evidence abound that promoting women’s financial inclusion provides huge benefits not only to the women but also their families and the economy in general. Given the potential of women’s financial inclusion to reduce income inequality and enhance inclusive growth, most financial regulators and supervisors are now focusing more on increasing participation of women in financial system to close the gender gap. It is against this backdrop that this paper examines the role of financial regulators and supervisors in promoting women’s financial inclusion with focus on the efforts of the Central Bank of Nigeria. It also highlights the constraints to women’s financial inclusion and measures to be taken by financial regulators and supervisors to address these issues including low level of financial literacy, inadequate access to credit, lack of collateral and cultural/social practices