10. Financial Inclusion of Rural Women in the Global South

This chapter aims to understand the importance of the financial inclusion of rural women in the Global South as a sustainable development concern within SDG 8.10. We analyzed the importance of a gender perspective within the 2030 Development Agenda. Further, we explored the current situation of rural women’s access to basic financial services based on recent studies on the matter. After revising the causes of the financial exclusion of women in rural communities, we found that entrenched gender norms and socioeconomic segregation prevent women in these contexts from participating in the financial system. Lack of financial literacy, time poverty (due to the care work burden), gender violence, the mobile gender gap, and few customized services for rural women are perpetuating the exclusion of women, despite private and public efforts. By promoting strategies toward financial inclusion, society can not only support gender equality but also economic growth and sustainable development. Thus, this chapter collects best practices historically and currently implemented in the Global South and proposes recommendations for businesses, governments, and civil society. Today, the world relies more on the financial system to handle crises, and ignoring rural women makes it harder to leave no one behind.