Empowering Women through Digital Financial Inclusion: Comparative Study before and after COVID-19

Fatma Mabrouk, Jihen Bousrih (), Manal Elhaj, Jawaher Binsuwadan and Hind Alofaysan
Additional contact information
Fatma Mabrouk: Department of Economics, College of Business and Administration, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
Jihen Bousrih: Department of Economics, College of Business and Administration, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
Manal Elhaj: Department of Economics, College of Business and Administration, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
Jawaher Binsuwadan: Department of Economics, College of Business and Administration, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
Hind Alofaysan: Department of Economics, College of Business and Administration, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 12, 1-17

Abstract: The COVID-19 crisis seems to have disproportionately impacted women’s financial resilience. In fact, women’s economic involvement in the financial sector remains unequal. This study compares the impact of digital financial inclusion on women’s economic empowerment before and after the COVID-19 epidemic in Saudi Arabia. Using data collected from the Global Financial Inclusion Database for 2017 and 2021 and ordered probit models, the paper examines the relationship between economic women’s empowerment and digital financial inclusion. Findings indicate that using digital financial services has become more crucial since the pandemic. The results demonstrate that women now play a more significant economic role in decision-making than they did before the epidemic because they have access to a variety of digital financial services that could affect their choices and decisions. The findings are consistent with a number of previous studies, which found that financial digitization is a significant factor in women’s economic empowerment. The distinctiveness of this study is that it provides a recent assessment of Saudi women’s present financial circumstances and assesses current Saudi government initiatives to enhance women’s economic empowerment and leadership capabilities. The research conclusions provide insights for regulators and implications for future research in promoting digital financial inclusion and ensuring Saudi women’s economic empowerment.

Keywords: women’s economic empowerment; digital financial inclusion; sustainable development goals; Saudi Arabia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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